Secrets and Lies
by Capacious-Whirl
Summary: Set in the Marauders' sixth year, focusing mainly on the interaction between Sirius, James, Remus etc. There's romance, comedy, eccentricity, a little bit of darkness thrown in. Please R&R! IT'S FINISHED! :
1. You call this a holiday?

Chapter One: You call this a holiday?

Sirius Black lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "I can't believe fifth year is over", he thought to himself. Remembering back to the last month or so, he allowed a grin to pass his face as he relished his OWL results. "I can't believe me and James passed even when we did hardly any work and no revision!" At the thought of his best friend, the grin faded as he came to the same realisation his mind kept returning to: that he would have to spend two months away from both him and Hogwarts, 'enjoying' the company of only his insufferable family.As if on cue, his snotty younger brother Regulus barged into the room, banging the door so hard that the windows rattled. Sirius merely raised his head and glanced at him, then went back to staring at the ceiling, which, after all, was a lot more interesting in his opinion."What are you doing?" Regulus demanded. The attitudes of their parents – that Regulus was a far more promising son than black sheep Sirius – had obviously rubbed off on him, and as a consequence he seemed to expect everyone to show him such deference."I'm wrestling a hippogriff, what does it look like?" Sirius said to the ceiling, and although he couldn't see Regulus' stuck-up face, he knew he would be pouting."Well, Mother says to come downstairs, she has some chores for you to do," Regulus got back at Sirius' put-down by delighting in his mother's favouritism."So?" Sirius said, still examining the ceiling. He noticed a tiny spider scurrying across it, and wondered how it could hang on upside down. "Can't you see I'm busy?"Just as Regulus started to get really irritated, which would have been just the cheer up Sirius needed, they heard the awful screech that everyone accepted as Mrs Black's voice."Sirius!" it ripped through the air up the stairs and into Sirius' brain. "Get down here, you insolent boy!"Sirius sighed and slowly rolled off the bed. As much as he didn't want to get any closer to his mother than was absolutely necessary, he knew that later on he would regret disobeying her at such an early stage of the holidays. He walked past Regulus, appreciating his height advantage."Have fun," snickered Regulus. Sirius ignored him, not liking to waste good comebacks on such an unworthy recipient. As always, when he made his way down the stairs he tried not to look at the unpleasant paintings of his snobbish and evil-looking relatives, and as always he wished like hell that he belonged to a different family. For what seemed like the millionth time, Sirius felt a pang of jealousy in his heart towards James; he didn't know how lucky he was, having parents who were at least polite to him.As he reluctantly entered the kitchen, Sirius bitterly wondered what long list of gruesome tasks his mother had in line for him. He was sure that she saved up the worst ones especially for him when he returned from Hogwarts. "I suppose she must consider me after all," he thought ironically. He also wondered how long it would be before Regulus came down to watch him and eat sweets."There you are," snapped Mrs Black, looking up, wand in hand, from putting the finishing touches of stitching on what looked like a tea towel decorated with a pattern of green intertwining snakes. Sirius kept his eyes off it, the familiar disgusted feeling coming back whenever he thought about his Slytherin family and their contemptuous opinion of him, a Gryffindor."You took so long I'd forgotten I'd called you," she continued."Summoned me, more like," Sirius thought, and waited for his orders."Don't look so insolent, boy, now many times do I have to tell you to respect your elders and especially your mother?" Mrs Black looked him up and down, taking in with an intense look of dislike his red Gryffindor jumper, which he chose to wear as often as possible, in protest to their evil Slytherinness. She seemed to decide against commenting this time. Sirius knew that she would wait until dinner to start insulting him and his 'disgraceful' friends, so that the whole family could hear and join in."Alright, here you are," Mrs Black handed him a piece of parchment on which a list of chores was written in green ink. "Should keep you out of trouble in any case," she added with an extra-mean glare.Sirius took the parchment out of her long-nailed claw without speaking and left the room, closing the heavy wooden door behind him. He glanced down at the list now, his heart sinking as he saw all the errands, each one more tedious than the last."De-gnome the garden; polish the drawing room cabinet...oh God, I'll have to touch all those Dark ornaments... clear out the attic, you gotta be kidding me – all that junk? Repair hole in roof," And there were lots more, though Sirius didn't read them all aloud. "What's next?" he asked himself. "Wash Snape's hair? Do Regulus' homework?""Yes, thanks, that would be great." Sirius hadn't realised his brother was sitting on the stairs, listening."At least I'll be able to set up some pranks," muttered Sirius, as though Regulus wasn't there."What?" Regulus got up off the stairs; his voice suddenly sharper now, unlike the lazy, gloating drawl he had used a moment ago. "What did you say?""I said have you remembered to put on your pants?" Sirius answered wearily, deciding which job to get a start on first."You know," Regulus began casually, "I heard Mother say the other day that if you don't shape up to her expectations then you won't be going back to Hogwarts." He leant against the wall, waiting to see Sirius' reaction.Sirius merely looked at the haughty, smug face for a moment, and left the room. He refused to let the worry he had felt at Regulus' words show on his face, but inside he didn't trust it merely to be his brother's malevolence, and he wouldn't put it past his mother to take every opportunity to make him miserable. He tried to put this out of his mind, and looked at his list."Right, what's the worst thing I have to do?" he muttered to himself. "Clearing out the attic, I suppose. I don't think I can face that now; I'll do that evil cabinet first."So he made his way up to the first floor, where the drawing room was. Inside, he couldn't help but look at the large tapestry of the family tree, the 'Ancient and Most Noble House of Black', and give it a glare of hatred. It epitomised the one thing he loathed above all about his life: his family. And that was quite a large part of his life, he knew. Every time he saw the family tree, which covered a sizeable part of the wall, the shame he felt of being part of such a despicable group of wizards was so intense that he had a great urge to scribble his name out.Tearing his eyes away form the terrible parchment, or contract, as Sirius saw it, an immovable contract, tying him to the family, he instead turned his attention to the great black cabinet in the corner of the room. This he also hated, but with not nearly so much venom. Putting aside his revulsion, he strode purposefully over to the cabinet and opened it. He spent the next hour cleaning each of the artefacts carefully – not because he was at all concerned with the well being of his family's precious things, but because he knew some of them could be quite dangerous if you handled them incorrectly. As he worked he tried not to think about what he was doing too much, and instead set his mind to deciding what the best prank was that he and James had pulled on Snape that year.He came down to the two best ones – the first of which was when they had put an enchantment on Snape so that everything he said came out in song (they had been tempted to also jinx his legs so that he would have had to dance everywhere, but Remus thought this would be going too far), and the second was planting a potion in his drink towards the end of term which resulted in him growing a pair of very conspicuous antlers, as well as green webbed hands, and hooves instead of feet. They had kept this potion restocked and continued to secretly feed it to him via the elves' kitchens at every evening meal for a week. Although both had a very high comedy value, Sirius was just coming to the conclusion that this was the better of the two, not least because it had supplied the Marauders with the treasured memory of Snape making loud clopping noises everywhere he went and having to do his OWLs sporting the antlers (Madame Pomfrey had managed to get rid of the frog-like hands in time, but could not go as far as the rest without Snape missing the exams, much to the Gryffindors' delight), when he got a nasty shock. The black engraved snuffbox that he was currently dusting must have objected to his rough treatment, because suddenly it sneezed right into his face."Oh shit," Sirius thought in alarm, "Who knows what that stuff will do to my face?"Luckily he had with him his wand and the small hand mirror that he used to communicate with James. It was an invention they had worked on together in the fourth year; they both had one of these magical mirrors, in which, if one said the other's name into it, he would appear and they could talk to each other through it. Sirius looked into his mirror now and saw to his horror that his face was beginning to sprout brown fur the same colour as the snuff from the black box. As he watched, aghast, he could actually see it growing at an incredibly fast rate. Grabbing his wand, he racked his brains for a spell that would stop it, but then remembered that students weren't allowed to perform magic away from Hogwarts.He made to pick up the mirror again, but realised with surprise that he could feel the horrible course fur falling out already. Relieved, he checked it was all gone, then, not liking to touch it too much, used the duster to get it all off his clothes."I wonder why it only lasted a second," he said, grinning now that the panic was over. "Maybe it has a charm to prevent it from harming Blacks," he thought bitterly, not liking to be thankful for being a member of the family. "I blame it all on Snape, anyway, I was thinking about that antler prank."It didn't take him long to finish the rest of the ornaments quickly, then he left the drawing room appreciatively and went up another staircase to his room, where he did a proper check of his face to make sure all the fur was gone. He felt very glad that Regulus had been absent for the whole affair.He spent the rest of the day completing the rest of his mother's tasks, even making an attempt to sort through the attic, although he didn't see why he had been allocated this job, as most of the stuff was old things belonging to his parents, which he didn't know if they wanted to keep or not. "Just like her," Sirius grumbled to himself as he sorted through the crap, "to make me do the pointless things."The only activity he vaguely enjoyed that day was the de-gnoming of the garden, as he got to go outside for this. Each time he grabbed one of the horny-skinned little creatures by its feet and slung it as far as he could over the garden wall, he imagined it was a different member of his family. 


	2. Means of Escape

Chapter Two: Means of escape

The next two weeks passed in much the same way; looking back, Sirius never could work out how he had survived it. Living with his family was frightfully dull for him, as he didn't share either their views or interests, and definitely not their personality traits. He didn't spend hours with them discussing how superior purebloods were against the despicable Mudbloods (Sirius, who had several friends at Hogwarts who were half-wizard, half-Muggle, felt his own blood boil whenever this ugly term was used), and how the 'true' wizards should have extra rights and privileges above the rest. Sometimes he idly wondered what his mother would say if she knew one of his best friends was a werewolf, and he always came to the conclusion that whatever she said, he wouldn't care. And he certainly never joined in with the after-dinner debates about Voldemort and his increasing power and rapidly growing support; To Sirius' disgust, the Blacks all agreed beyond contestation that it his cause was worthy, although they weren't always sure about the ways You-Know-Who chose to put his message across.In fact, Sirius tried his hardest to avoid seeing his family. His mother insisted that he join them for the evening meal each night, but apart from that he did quite well in not seeing them. Regulus, who had a very short attention span, often came to seek him out and annoy him with his daft comments, and after a short time, Sirius became so irritated with his brother that he fixed a magical lock on the door so that only he could get in and out. (It was a bolt which he and James had worked on during the last school year; one of their inventions. It worked well, of course, and Sirius was very glad he had brought one home, as he couldn't use magic there).He didn't spend much time at the house, unless his mother provided him with fresh tasks to complete; instead he went out every day to explore London, always trying to discover areas he had never been before. His other means of escape from his family was through the mirror. Whenever he felt them getting too much, he would slip away to his room and call James' name into the reflection, and his best friend would always come to his rescue, to entertain him for a while. Luckily, although Sirius didn't have an owl of his own, and wouldn't want to borrow the Black family's suitably wicked- looking bird to send mail, James had one, whom they also sometimes used to communicate.At the end of the second week, however, Sirius knew he couldn't hack it for much longer. He hadn't found any new, interesting parts of London for days, and he felt he was beginning to impose on James slightly, as he had started to use the mirror at least twice a day.That night as he lay in bed waiting for sleep to take him, he decided once and for all that he would get away. He had breakfast as usual the next morning, taking care to give his mother, father and brother plenty of time to finish theirs before he came down to eat, and then went upstairs to pack, and call James."James Potter!" He shouted into the mirror, and then waited a bit for James to pick up."Sirius?" He sounded quite groggy, and his eyelids were heavy with sleep. "You woke me up, mate.""Oh, sorry, it was important.""It's ok, I'm used to you calling all hours of the day.""I have to!" Sirius said hotly. "You don't know what it's like here!""As you've told me so many times before," James said, smiling a bit. "Don't worry, I was just joking.""I wish I could have a laugh," said Sirius darkly."So what's up this time?" James asked, trying to wake himself up a bit. "Regulus being a prat again? Is the door lock still working?""Yeah yeah yeah," Sirius assured him impatiently, "listen, it's not him, he's fine - well, not fine, but you know. I was just calling to ask if I could come and stay at yours?"James grinned at his friend's anxious face. "Of course, mate! I've been wondering how long it'd be before you asked! Grab your stuff and scoot on down, my parents won't mind.""Are you sure?" Sirius asked, though his eyes had lost some of the worry, which was replaced by the habitual laughter. "It'll be a bit earlier than usual.""Yeah, they prefer you to me anyway." James shrugged and added, "I've learned to deal with it.""Ah, brilliant!" The first real smile appeared on Sirius' face. "Thanks so much, you have no idea how great it'll be to get away from this shitehole. I'll pack my stuff, then get there as soon as possible.""OK, see you in a bit," James said cheerfully. "I'll tell the folks you're coming. Mum'll probably have to go out for some more food," he joked, and quickly called, "Bye!" before Sirius could retaliate.Grinning, Sirius put the mirror down and started packing his trunk. He had to get all his clothes, including his Hogwarts robes, his wand, broom and cauldron, plus the mirror and a selection of items he and James were currently working on or had finished. As he would need new textbooks for the coming school year and could get them later on in the holiday, he packed only the ones he thought he would need. He didn't want the load to be too heavy, and even now he knew the journey would be tough going.At last, he finished fitting his things into the trunk and locked it. He went to the door, unlocked and opened it quietly, and poked his head around it to check for any unwanted spectators. Seeing no one, he crept down stairs as quietly as he could, whilst carrying the heavy trunk.There still seemed to be no one about, so Sirius walked a bit quicker down the long hallway to the front door. There he paused to look behind him one last time, and seeing a still-empty hallway, opened the door.As he closed it behind him, he let out a short laugh like a bark, and practically leapt down the steps. He went down an alleyway at the side of the house and found his motorbike, partially hidden under an overhanging bush and gathering dust and rust. "I'll have to clean you up when I get to James'," Sirius said quietly, frowning as he wheeled the bike out into the road.He was planning, when he finished school, to put some charms on the bike so it could fly, but for now he had to make do with regular, slow Muggle travel. As he got the helmet out of the seat, Sirius heard the door behind him and quickly turned around to see Regulus standing at the front door at the top of the steps."Where are you going?" he called down, looking alarmed. "You pissing off again, like you do every year?""Damn straight," muttered Sirius to himself. As he quickly turned the key in the ignition in case his mother came down, he turned to Regulus and gave him the finger before riding off and around the corner."See you next year, I expect," he thought grimly, then turned to brighter prospects ahead of him as he left the worst place on earth, in his opinion, behind for another year. 


	3. New Girl

Chapter Three: New girl

The journey passed with no real drama; Sirius knew the route pretty well by now, and once he was out of London he could go faster, with hardly a worry of meeting any other traffic. He enjoyed seeing the countryside, even though he had only spent two weeks in the city, and was feeling happier than he had since leaving Hogwarts as he drove along the Potters' road and came into view of their house.He was distracted, however, from the contentment of having reached his destination point, by the sight of a girl he'd never seen before, a beautiful girl, he thought – quite possibly the most beautiful girl he'd even seen. She was walking slowly down the lane towards him, trailing her hand through the long grass at the side of the road. She didn't seem to have noticed the roar of the motorbike; indeed Sirius had forgotten all about his purpose. Mesmerised, he couldn't take his eyes off her, and realised too late that he had veered off course and was about to smash into a brick wall.Sirius woke from the dreamy spell that the girl seemed to have cast over both him and his surroundings, as he lay crumpled underneath his bike at the bottom of the garden wall. He tried to lift his head and found that he could, and apart from a general throbbing ache, he couldn't feel any extreme pain anywhere."Hmm, that was strange," he thought to himself. "How did I not see that wall?" Then he looked up, and remembered.The girl was crouching next to her, alarm in her blue eyes. Close up, Sirius thought she was more stunning than he could have imagined, with light brown hair hanging in waves down to her bare shoulders, as she wore a strapless top and a floaty summer skirt.He hadn't realised how long he'd been gazing at her until she said, in a sweet, accented voice – French, he thought - touched with concern, "Are you alright? You look like you're in a daze."Sirius blinked and started. "I'm alright," he said, "I'm not sure quite what happened, though." He wasn't about to tell her that he'd crashed because he was too busy staring at her."Well, sometimes our concentration just goes," the girl said quietly, her face still close to his. "Do you need help getting up, or are you going to stay there?"Again, Sirius was startled from the trance she seemed to put him in. He lifted the bike off of himself and got up, carefully stretching his arms and legs."Is everything okay?" the girl asked, rising slowly form where she was crouching. Sirius found that she was about a head shorter than him, and perfectly in proportion. "Are you sure you're alright? You have blood on you head.""Have I?" he asked, putting a hand up to check. "Well, I feel okay," he managed to get out. "What's wrong with me?" he asked himself. "I am not fine."After standing there for a moment, he added, "Well, I'd better get this bit of junk back on its feet," indicating the bike lying crippled on the ground."Oh, will you be able to fix it?" She asked in that honey voice."No problem," Sirius assured her as he wheeled it down to James' driveway."Are you going to the Potters'?" She enquired, walking beside him."Yeah, I come every summer, as soon as I know I can't stand my family in London for another minute." He found that if he didn't look directly at her, then his mind would stay relatively clear and he could think about what he was saying. "James is my best friend.""James," the girl said thoughtfully, "yes, I met him when we first moved here.""You live here?" Sirius asked, whilst thinking, "James, you lucky bastard!" to himself."Only for two weeks so far," she said, "since the beginning of the holidays. It's okay here, but I don't think James likes me much.""What?" he said in amazement. "I can categorically say that he does like you.""Really? Oh, okay." She didn't seem very interested, though. "What's wrong with your family?" she asked, turning those blue eyes on him.Sirius had to work his mind very hard to resist falling to that trance again. "What's right with them, I think is the question," he croaked, and looked away. He cleared his throat and expanded his answer a little. "We just have vast and extreme differences of opinion, on everything. Well, here we are," he said, as by now they had reached the front door. He knocked, and turned to face the girl, or angel, as he had now come to think of her as. "Pull yourself together!" he told himself sharply, although this was easier said than done.Just as he found himself looking into her eyes again, the door opened and Sirius whirled round to see James, black hair as untidy as ever and a big grin on his face.It faded when he looked Sirius up and down and saw the state his friend was in. "Hey, what happened? There's blood on you, and... what happened?""I crashed my bike," Sirius answered sheepishly, pointing to his mangled vehicle, which he left in the driveway. "But I had help," he added brightly, stepping aside to reveal the girl to James.James hardly looked at her. "But you're alright? How did you crash?" he asked, the grin coming back into view, "I thought you could drive?""He just lost concentration," the girl said quietly."Oh," said James, regarding her for the first time. A dawning look came into his eyes. "Oh, I see... Well, you'd better come in and get cleaned up." He started to usher Sirius into the house."Hang on!" Sirius put in, "aren't you going to introduce me to you new neighbour?" He was surprised by James' behaviour, and was starting to think that the girl was right when she said he didn't like her, impossible though that seemed."Yes, James," the girl said, smiling and putting her hand on Sirius' arm. "You never mentioned that you had such a handsome friend.""Well, it would have taken the focus off me, wouldn't it?" James replied, managing a smile, while Sirius beamed at the compliment and her touch on his arm. "His name is Sirius Black," James continued, eyeing her prolonged hold of the arm in question, "and this," he looked at Sirius' expectant face, "is Adriana.""Adriana," Sirius breathed, looking once again into her endless blue eyes. Then he seemed to snap out of it. "Happy to meet you," he said with a smile."Likewise," Adriana whispered, running her fingers up and down his muscular arm."Okay!" James broke the moment as he grabbed Sirius' other arm and yanked him into the house. "Lovely to see you again, Adriana, but Sirius has to come in now, see you later, bye bye now, bye bye!" And with that he closed the door on Sirius' view of her beautiful face.James finally released his grip on Sirius' arm. "You sure you're alright, mate?" he asked as he went into the kitchen."I am now," Sirius answered, half to himself, still looking at the door with a silly grin on his face. Then he went after James angrily. "What was that about, eh? You were so rude to her! She said you didn't like her!""She was right," James said grimly as he put the kettle on.Sirius was lost for words, but only for a second. "What could you possibly dislike about that girl?" he demanded."Look, you don't know her," James said, looking up at Sirius. "I was like you when I first saw her, first talked to her. Tea or coffee?""What d'you mean, like me?" Sirius asked."Oh, come on," James said in exasperation, "all giddy and loved-up – it's the effect she has on everyone," he added loudly over Sirius' outraged sounds."Oh," said Sirius, "so you're saying she's like a Veela or something?""Yeah," said James, "yeah, maybe. Anyway, you need to wash, you've got blood and dirt all over you.""Okay," Sirius said distractedly, and sat down at the kitchen table. He felt a little disappointed; he'd thought that Adriana had liked him – what was all the arm rubbing about, then? "Hey, where are your parents?" he asked."Out in the garden, doing stuff," James answered vaguely. "They'll be in soon, it's nearly lunchtime.""Be-auty," Sirius said, looking forward to food.As James sat down with two mugs of coffee, Sirius couldn't stop himself from asking, "So why don't you like her?"James wished the conversation could move on to something else. "She's so... clingy, I guess. I hardly ever go out in the road any more, because I know she'll be there." He put on a high voice, nothing like Adriana's, " 'Oh, hello, Jamie, how are you?' 'You're really good on your bike, Jamie, I bet you're brilliant at Quidditch,' all this sort of stuff, always fluttering her eyelashes and giving out false compliments. And where does she get off calling me Jamie?" He made a face expressing his dislike."Well, I have to say I'm impressed," Sirius said, and seeing James' misunderstanding, he added, "you seem to have shed yourself of a truckload of arrogance in the two weeks since school finished. Back then you'd have fallen for her in less than a second. What happened?""It's just a feeling I have about her," James mused, "like she's bad news or something. And anyway, I'm trying to 'improve myself' for Lily.""Of course," Sirius said, rolling his eyes."Don't you roll your eyes after your recent display out there!""I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius said guiltily."'Oh Adriana, what a beautiful name, so pleased to meet you, can I be your lap dog and lick your shoes clean please...'""Alright, alright! Fine, but how do I stop myself from going into her trance?" Sirius asked."There's no trance, mate," James told him, still laughing, "it's just willpower, you have to force yourself to stay awake.""That sounds hard," Sirius said thoughtfully, "maybe I'll just stay out of her way... that sounds hard, too, though. She doesn't wear shoes.""What?" said James, caught off guard."You said, 'can I lick your shoes clean?' but she wasn't wearing shoes, she was barefoot.""Ugh, I bet her feet are filthy," James said, looking disgusted. "That's what you have to do, you see – focus on the bad points, or the things that make her seem more human.""Okay," said Sirius, and just then James' parents came in through the back door."Oh, Sirius!" cried Mrs Potter, dusting off her muddy hands. "How are you dear?" James rolled his eyes at what he thought was obvious favouritism."Fine, thank you," Sirius replied politely, standing up to shake Mr Potter's hand. "I'm sorry if I'm an inconvenience.""Oh, don't be silly," Mrs Potter said, bustling about the kitchen as she got some lunch ready."We look forward to seeing you, eh, James?" Mr Potter added.Sirius grinned at James, and was met with amusingly narrowed eyes. 


	4. The Marauders Together Again

Chapter Four: The Marauders together again

Sirius' time at the Potters' was immensely enjoyable, as always. The family was so different from his own that he could scarcely believe they were the same species. He relished being able to laze about without the worry of endless chores, and to have the chance to brush up on his Quidditch skills with James. As the Potters lived so far out in the country, it was easy to find a place where they could fly their brooms without being seen. They didn't see Adriana very much, as James tried his best to keep Sirius out of her way. Sirius still couldn't help thinking of her, though, especially on hot summery days. The two times they had seen her since Sirius' arrival, James had dragged his friend away as quickly as possible, with only the minimal amount of conversation involved. Sirius, in turn, tried hard not to mention her too often, but couldn't stop himself sometimes. "Does she go to Hogwarts?" he asked one day as the two lay in the garden, playing Wizard's chess. "Does who go to Hogwarts?" James asked cheerily as if he didn't know, and at Sirius' face he feigned a look of surprise and answered, "Oh, Adriana. I think she'll start this year; they moved from France, I think." "I didn't think I'd seen her at school," Sirius said contentedly. "Well, maybe you just didn't notice her," James suggested, and chose to ignore the second of Sirius' glares as his black knight smashed a white pawn from the board. Sirius looked surprised at this setback in the game. "Oh, wasn't concentrating," he said absently. "No, you don't do a lot of that lately," James grinned. "Just enjoying the freedom while we can, mate," Sirius sighed as he rolled over onto his back on the grass, facing the blue sky with his eyes closed. 

"Sure," James agreed, and realised that the game had been abandoned for now.

They wiled away the next few weeks doing their best to live up to Sirius' words of enjoying their freedom while they could. This meant neglecting their homework and opting instead to play Quidditch, fix the motorbike and generally lounge about. With one week of the holidays left, and having received their Hogwarts letters announcing the booklist for the sixth year, they decided to make the obligatory trip to Diagon Alley. They entered the Potters' living room fireplace and, with the help of a little Floo powder, stepped out into the dusty air of the Leaky Cauldron. "Hello there, boys!" Tom the barman called across as they appeared. "Will it be the usual pint for you both?" He held up two glasses, ready for their consumption. Sirius went forward eagerly, but James grabbed hold of his shirt. "Not today, Tom, we're on Hogwarts business." "Ah, maybe next time, then." Tom went back to his work. James headed across to the entrance to Diagon Alley, pulling a very disappointed-looking Sirius behind him. "Focus on the job at hand, you alchy," he hissed in Sirius' ear as they waited for the magical archway to appear. The first place they went to was Quality Quidditch Supplies, to check out any new racing brooms. James was very keen on a Cleansweep 7, but Sirius, whilst dragging him away from the shop window after quarter of an hour of ogling through the glass, reminded him that his Silver Arrow was perfectly acceptable for now. As they continued down the street, talking and laughing and discussing different Quidditch brooms and teams, Sirius suddenly pointed across the road and shouted, "Moony!" while James made a howling wolf noise beside him. Remus hurried to meet them, grinning widely. "Watch out, you're so going to give away my secret identity if you're not careful!" "Your secret identity?" James repeated in mocking tones. "What do you think you are, a superhero?" Sirius asked jokingly. "Wolf- Man!" he declared, and Remus growled dangerously to add to the effect. Remus had also just arrived, and together the three of them went to Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, before paying a very necessary visit to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. They dumped their bags of new robes and books on the floor and each ordered a big sundae for lunch, as they chatted and caught up with each other. Just as Sirius was telling Remus in detail everything about Adriana, to Remus' wonder and James immense indifference, they were interrupted by a squeaky voice calling over to them, and turned to see the fourth Marauder, Peter Pettigrew, coming over to their table. "Hello, Wormtail," James greeted him warmly. "Your voice hasn't broken yet, then?" "Not yet, Prongs," Peter laughed a little too much before asking, "Have you come for your new school stuff?" "Yep," Sirius indicated the bags at their feet as Peter sat himself down between him and James. "Have you got all your stuff yet, Wormy?" James asked. "No, I just got here with my parents," Peter answered, "But I got rid of them straight away," he added, and laughed. "Yeah, independence, man," James agreed with raised eyebrows. "Wait, wait, wait." Sirius suddenly half-stood from his seats and stared over the heads of James and Peter. He grabbed Remus' arm and pointed very indiscreetly. "Look, Moony, look, there she is!" Remus looked in the general direction of Sirius' wavering finger, a bewildered expression on his face. "There's who? Where are you pointing?" "Adriana!" Sirius said impatiently, still staring over. She was with a few other girls, just having come out of the Magical Menagerie. Sirius saw that she had a sleek black cat cuddled in her arms, and for the first time he was envious of an animal. Remus' eyes practically popped out of his head when he finally saw her, and Peter, craning his neck to see, breathed, "Wow! She's amazing!" "Oh, for God's sake," James groaned, very irritated. "Get over it! Peter, make Padfoot sit down, he looks ridiculous!" Sirius, who may as well have been standing on his chair, sat down again, and said slyly, "Oh, look who's with her – Lily Evans," and waited for James' turn to ogle. To his surprise, James looked dismayed. "What's Lily doing with her? Hasn't she got enough friends?" he glowered, but kept staring over nonetheless. Sirius grinned and turned to Remus. "Well, what do you think now?" he asked, nudging him in the ribs. "Did I exaggerate or did I not?" "Remus tore his eyes away from the group of girls. "You did not, my friend," he answered. "She is truly amazing." "Hear, hear!" Peter squeaked. "Does she go to Hogwarts, Padfoot?" "She will, in September," Sirius declared, his grin growing wider. James whipped round on hearing this. "Yeah, that'll be a problem," he said. Faced with his friends' blank expressions, he elaborated, "You can't all go after her, that would be a complete comedy. The Marauders would split up and it will end in tears, I promise you." Sirius smiled again. "Nah, you're talking dirge!" he crowed, and gazed over at Adriana again. But Remus looked more serious. "No, he's right," he realised slowly. "I'm not that bothered, I'll leave it to you two to try," he told Sirius and Peter. "Alright!" Peter cried, as Sirius slapped him on the shoulder appreciatively. "Anyway," Remus continued, "we're acting like any of us could get her in a second – she probably wouldn't look twice at any one of us." "Well, you're probably right about Wormtail," Sirius started soberly, treating Peter to a sympathetic look before he grinned wickedly again, "But I'm a prince, mate!" "You bastard, Padfoot," James told him. Sirius laughed, but James had never looked more serious. 


	5. Back to School

Chapter Five: Back to school

Sirius and James sat in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express, watching all the students outside saying goodbye to the families, and waiting for Remus and Peter. They had arrived early for a change, given a lift by James' parents, after the usual procedure of frantic packing in the morning; they had never thought that maybe it would have been more convenient to start packing before the last minute."Oh, come on, I'm starving," Sirius moaned, checking his watch. It was five to eleven."Sorry, Padfoot, but I think the food cart come round in about two hours," James told him, prompting Sirius to pull an even glummer face."Why didn't you give Adriana a lift here?" he asked snappishly. "I thought it was very rude.""She went with her own parents," James explained wearily for the tenth time. "Besides, our car was pretty full and I don't think you should be telling my parents who they hand out lifts to.""I wasn't telling your parents, I was telling you. And the reason is: you don't like her.""No, I don't like her," James said definitively. "Savvy?""Savvy?" Sirius repeated with a condescending frown, and fell silent, staring out the train window. "Where do you think she is?" he asked after a few seconds."Sirius, you're smothering me," James said, trying to keep his temper.Sirius turned his gaze to the glass compartment door, and poked James, saying, "Look, there's Lily!"James looked out eagerly, putting his hands to the glass. Sirius smiled, satisfied that he was not the only one preoccupied with a woman. "This year..." James said, his words loaded."Yeah, good luck, mate," Sirius said with a slight smirk. "Oh look, it's Moony and Wormtail," he told James as the two entered the compartment."Hey dudes!" James said as they sat down and shut the door again."Dudes?" Remus asked, looking mildly surprised."James has some new words in his vocabulary that he wants to introduce to Hogwarts," Sirius explained derisively."No need to get narky about it," James said cheerfully. Sirius scowled as the train slowly started to move out of the station, the students making a racket as they called goodbye to their families."We got here just in time, Wormtail," Remus commented.The journey went smoothly as normal; the Marauders passed the time by playing Wizard games and making general chat. They also discussed their previous year, and the tricks they played on Snape and the other Slytherins. Everyone agreed, as Sirius had thought weeks ago, that the antler trick was by far the best. James and Peter spent a long time trying to think up some fresh ideas, while Sirius and Remus practised some of the Transfiguration they had learnt before the summer.Halfway through the journey the friendly witch with the food cart knocked on their compartment door. Sirius looked up and, on seeing her, broke into the happiest smile."Finally!" he cried, lunging towards the door to open it. In his rush he dropped the Golden Snitch that he had been trying, rather ambitiously, even for his abilities, to Transfigure into a bird, and while he scrambled to catch it again, Remus calmly opened the door and told the witch politely, "We're okay in here, thanks, not very hungry at the moment." She smiled and continued down the train."Nooooooo!" Sirius yelled, forgetting the Snitch and throwing himself out into the corridor after the food. James, Peter and Remus were in fits of laughter when he returned, his arms laden with practically everything the witch had had to offer and a murderous look on his face."Moony, you bastard," he said, tipping the food onto a spare seat. "Keeping a starving man from his lunch. I hope you feel guilty.

"  
  
"Oh, I do," Remus replied in mock seriousness, "so guilty."

The others continued chuckling as Sirius continued, "Luckily for you lot, I possess a small amount of decency, so I got enough for all of us. You can thank me later," he added dryly, as they all tucked in without a word."I'll pencil it in," Remus told him, grinning through a mouthful of Pumpkin Pasty.Time passed more quickly after that, as they had eaten already. James confiscated the Snitch from Sirius before he could do too much damage to it.Sirius was outraged. "Give it back, it's not even yours!""Yes it is, I stole it!" James replied letting the Snitch fly a few inches before catching it deftly, always keeping it out of Sirius' reach."I was using it to practise my work!" Sirius protested."It was a pointless spell," James told him. "What would you have done with the bird, even if you had got it right?"Sirius sat back in his seat, glowering, as a sneering voice said, "Look at the two of you, arguing like an old married couple."The Marauders looked round to see Severus Snape at the open compartment door, a smirk visible beneath his large, hooked nose.Sirius looked back at James. "You see, I told you I think Snivellus may have a crush on Wormtail – see the way he finds any excuse to hang around us."Peter went slightly pink, as James looked thoughtful. "I'd never thought of that, Padfoot, you may be onto something there." He turned to Snape, adopting a concerned expression. "I'm sorry, Snivellus, but Peter just doesn't think of you that way. I'm sure some of your Slytherin buddies will help you get over him." He smiled kindly."Yeah, I've heard all sorts of things go on down in those dungeons," Remus put in seriously. "Those Slytherins are up for anything, or so the rumours go.""Now would you mind stepping out of our compartment," Peter said, "because you're dripping grease all over the floor and we don't want to slip up or anything."Snape looked from one to the other angrily and finally said, "You bloody Gryffindors need your heads deflating. You'd better watch out this year.""Wonderful," James replied, as though finishing an interview. "We will, thank you. See you at the feast, bye-bye."

  
  
When the train was nearing its destination and had started to slow down, the Marauders were discussing the summer homework. Remus was worried when he discovered James and Sirius had done next to none of it.

"So you didn't do any of the work for Potions, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Divination or History of Magic?" Sirius and James shook their heads at each one."Oh, no, we did Transfiguration," James said corrected himself.Sirius nodded. "Yeah, we were worried that McGonagall might string us up by our toenails otherwise," he added."What about the Defence Against the Dark Arts essay?" Remus asked anxiously, looking from one to the other as though desperate to hear that they had done something."Oh yeah, we did that, didn't we, Prongs?" Sirius said casually."Yeah, cause we like that lesson," James answered. "But we didn't do the boring stuff, because it was boring.""Yeah, it was boring," Sirius agreed, smiling unconcernedly.Not wishing to hear any more, Remus left the conversation there, but Peter continued, just as worried. "But what are you going to do?" he asked them, looking scared. "I'd be shitting myself - the teachers are gonna go mad."James shrugged, looking indifferent. "You know what we say, Wormtail, at the end of the day, it's the luck of the draw.""You win some, you lose some," Sirius said."Yar," James finished.Peter continued to look nervous for them, while Remus said, "No matter how many times you say that, it never makes sense and it's neither relevant or helpful.""Of course it is," Sirius assured him. "Moony, do you have no faith in us?""We can always catch up," James agreed, and looked out the window at the darkening landscape. "Ooh, look we're at Hogsmeade at last."

Half an hour later they were glad to be back at Hogwarts, sitting in the Great Hall greeting their friends and waiting for Dumbledore to start the feast. James had sought out Lily as soon as possible, to assure her of his continuing love, and to generally make sure she knew he would still be hanging around. She hadn't received this very positively, but James was not put off, and was in a celebratory mood at the Gryffindor table.

The last stragglers from the carriages sat down with their houses, and Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat at the centre of the staff table. He beamed around at the students for a few moments before speaking."Welcome back, everyone, I hope this is a suitably magical year for you all, full of fun, frivolity and maybe some studying thrown in for effect. Before our new first years are sorted, we have a new sixth-year student to greet and take into our midst. She has already been informed of her house by the Sorting Hat, so would you please give a warm welcome to Adriana Balavoine, our brand new addition to Gryffindor!"He started the clapping as Adriana stepped into the hall from a room off the side. Sirius clapped and cheered feverishly, making the most noise along with Peter and all the other male students present. Adriana seemed to float along the Gryffindor table and sank down to sit with Lily and her friends, but not before blowing a kiss to a delighted Sirius.The sorting process always seemed to last a lifetime for Sirius, because as usual he was impatient to get to the feast. He tapped his fingers on the tabletop and his feet underneath, and joined in the clapping of each new young Gryffindor as they sat down, and the hissing at the Slytherins.Sirius gabbed his knife and fork and stared at the golden plates expectantly when the last one sat down, to applause from the Ravenclaw table, and when nothing happened he looked up again in confusion. To his annoyance, Dumbledore had stood again and raised his hands for quiet."Before we dig into our delicious feast," the headmaster began."Oh God!" Sirius groaned in frustration, banging his cutlery down again."My apologies, Mr Black," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling, "I promise I won't detain the meal for too long. I have another newcomer to introduce to you. Our new professor of Astronomy has just arrived, so may I now present, Professor Harlem."With a wave of his arm he indicated the new teacher to the left of Professor McGonagall and once again started the clapping. The students politely joined in, as they tried to get a proper look at the newcomer. Harlem was a young man with a small, stocky frame, with brown shoulder- length hair, and right now he wore dark blue robes and an awkward smile as he accepted the introduction."And let the feast begin..." Dumbledore smiled when he caught sight of Sirius, whose knife and fork were once again poised ready for immediate use, "now.""Yes!" Sirius shouted, to the amusement of the other Marauders and Gryffindors. "Oh, yes," he said again as the potatoes, meat, vegetables and everything else appeared in surplus amounts before him."Didn't you feed him at your place, Prongs?" Remus asked, gazing in wonder at the speed at which Sirius began to eat."Yep," James laughed. "Every hour, on the hour." 


	6. Remus the Lone Arranger

Chapter Six: Remus the Lone Arranger

The feast was over and the students of the four houses had gone their separate ways to their different common rooms. Up in Gryffindor Tower, most had retired to bed, but the Marauders and Lily's group of friends were the last to remain, sitting in the squashy armchairs before the warm fire. Sirius, much to Peter's jealousy, had made sure he was sat next to Adriana on the settee, and she was currently his centre of attention, not surprisingly."So what do you think of Hogwarts so far?" he asked her with a smile."I thought the food was lovely," she said, showing her white teeth in return, "and of course I'm happy to be in Gryffindor.""Of course you are, it's the only place to be," he assured her.Meanwhile James had plonked himself between Lily and her friend Bethan, and interrupted their conversation."Are you looking forward to this year, Lily?" he asked, putting his arm round her."That depends on whether you're going to insist on being this annoying all the time," she replied, pushing his arm away. She did notice with some gladness, however, that he had stopped calling her 'Evans'."Well I don't know what you call annoying," James said, "but I'm certainly not giving up on you easily, you can depend on that.""Oh good, that's put my mind at rest," Lily said dryly, and, to annoy him, turned to the other girls. "Did you see the new Astronomy teacher? Is it just me, or was he fine?"Her friends nodded and agreed heartily with her. "I've always thought we needed some proper eye candy around here," Bethan commented.The Marauders spluttered and made their confusion clear. "Excuse me?" Sirius asked loudly, doubly dismayed as Adriana had also put forward her admiration of the new teacher."He's gorgeous!" Sarah, another of Lily's girlfriends reiterated for them."Stop saying that!" James said, looking scandalised. "He's a teacher!""So?" Lily asked, clearly enjoying herself. "He was only young – didn't you see?""Apparently not," Sirius grumbled."I'm feeling a bit tired," Remus said, looking at the others. "Why don't we go up now?"Sirius and James thought this a good idea and disentangled themselves from the girls. "This isn't over," James declared, pointing an accusing finger at Lily as he followed Remus and Peter up the stairs."Night-night, boys!" Lily called at their retreating backs. "I don't know about you, but I really hope we have Astronomy tomorrow!"The Marauders made no reply as they trooped up, trying to ignore the laughter below them.The next morning the group sat in their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, looking over their new timetables as they chose between bacon and eggs, cereal, porridge, toast and many other dishes."Too bad, Lily!" James cried triumphantly across the table. "We don't have Astronomy till Wednesday!"The girls ignored him, but they were obviously disappointed.Sirius put a huge forkful of bacon in his mouth and asked James, who was opposite him, "Sho when's our firs' Qu'itch trainin' seshun?""Sirius, that's disgusting," Bethan told him, wrinkling her nose as she poured herself a goblet of orange juice.Sirius swallowed the bacon with difficulty. "Sorry," he said, in a much clearer voice."I don't know yet, Padfoot," James answered; he had long since learned to translate Sirius' food-in-mouth speak to English. "We'll have to work out a programme.""Are you in the school team?" asked Adriana admiringly, from Sirius' right.He turned to her, looking pleased with her interest. "Why, yes we are," he said. "I'm one of the beaters and Prongs is seeker.""He's also Captain," Peter added squeakily, half wanting to talk to Adriana and half in awe of James' skills on the Quidditch pitch."Yeah," Sirius agreed, "But we've recently appointed Moony here, "he thumped Remus on the shoulder, causing him to choke on his toast, "Oh, sorry, mate - as team manager.""Isn't that your job?" Adriana asked James."It was, but I wasn't very good at it. I'm better at team morale."Sirius snorted. "What he really means is the bullying and waking us up at the crack of dawn."James ignored him and, adopting a superior expression, told Adriana, "Some of my team are very unprofessional. So I leave the organising things to Moony.""He's the Lone Arranger," Sirius added."What are these names you use for each other?" Adriana asked. "Moony, Prongs?""That's just them being stupid, sad boys," Lily told her from her other side. "They like to think they're special, so they made up those nicknames.""That's a nasty way of putting it," James mused."She's right though," Remus admitted absently as he examined his timetable. "Oh no," he said, sounding horrified. "We've got History of Magic first thing today.""That's alright," yawned Sirius, "We can just go back to sleep for an hour.""Professor Binns is so old," James commented. "Don't you think he should die soon?""That's an awful thing to say!" Sarah exclaimed."No it's not, he's had a good life," Sirius said, "And now it's just time for him to... move on." He demonstrated the motion with a sweep of his hands. "Knowing him, he'd probably just carry on teaching anyway. Not much can stop that man from droning on about fights between goblins and giants that happened a million years ago, even death – me and James should know.""You're saying he'd carry on teaching after he's dead?" James asked sceptically. "As a ghost?""Yeah.""Bollocks. You're always talking bollocks.""It's better than hearing it," Sirius shrugged.The first week of September passed amid bright sunshine, and the summery weather reflected on the atmosphere at Hogwarts, and the behaviour of its students. No one was tempted to do any work so early on in the term, or partake in any strenuous activity, and everyone chose to laze about the grounds instead, only coming inside for lessons and when it got dark and cool.The Marauders, keeping to their tradition of causing a ruckus as soon as possible to celebrate the school year, had this time chosen to upset the whole school's schedule, with a grand-scale stunt the success of which they were very proud of. This was to enchant the moving staircases so that they became jammed in the busy period between lessons. So as not to give themselves away, the four sixth years did their best to appear innocent, by complaining loudly every time they got stuck in a group of people on a stationary staircase."Oh, come on!" Sirius yelled on the first Wednesday after lunch, though he could not keep the laughter out of his voice, this being the sixth time that day that day that they had caused timetables to run amok. "Haven't they fixed these bloody things yet?""Yeah, I'm getting really angry now!" James agreed, craning his neck to see over the heads of the crowd before him. "I want to get to my lessons, Padfoot!" His eyes shone with his own daring, before he was pushed forward by an impatient someone behind him."Oi!" he shouted, turning to retaliate. But he stopped on hearing a scream. He spun back round to see that Lily has been forced off the staircase in the confusion, and had only not fallen because she had managed to grab onto Remus' outstretched hand. To James' horror, it looked as though their grip on each other was slipping."Remus, don't let go!" Lily cried, desperately clinging to his hand as her legs flailed in midair. She made the mistake of looking down, and screamed again as she saw the marble floor of the Entrance Hall far below her.Remus was straining with the effort of holding on, and reaching forward, tried to gain more leverage with his other hand. Failing this, he pulled his wand out from his pocket and held it ready. "Lily, don't worry," he told her, and let go.The gathered students gasped as they watched Lily plummet down, screaming with terror."Remus, you fool!" James shouted in panic."Immobilus!" Remus cried, pointing at Lily's fast-departing form with his wand. She stopped dead, floating in midair, her screams still terribly audible. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Remus said, and guided Lily back up to where they were standing."Fuck, Moony, you scared me to death!" Sirius breathed, his eyes wide."Scared you to death?" cried Lily, one hand over her heaving chest. "I've never been more terrified! And you!" she turned furiously to James, who looked anxious, "I hope you're happy – I was nearly killed as a result of your stupid, childish prank!""I'm sorry, Lily," he whispered, "I didn't mean it." But she had turned away from him, and was thanking Remus for saving her."I suppose I'll have to trust you from now on," she told him, smiling now that she was getting over the scare, "even though you gave me the fright of my life." Remus smiled back.Sirius glanced at James; he looked anguished. "Hey, what d'you say we take off the enchantment, Prongs? I think this prank has lost the original spark it once had." 


	7. Astronomy and Abercrombie

OK, I realise the previous chapters were jsut a huge block, not sure what happened there, but I've tried to fix it for more pleasurable reading..... Thanks for the reviews so far.

Chapter Seven: Astronomy and Abercrombie

The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sixth years filed into their Astronomy room excitedly; at least, the girls were excited, about finally meeting the new teacher properly. The boys looked irritated, for the same reason, and the Marauders were still shaken by the recent event on the stairs. Lily wasn't speaking to James.Sirius and James chose their desks at the back of the room, and Remus and Peter sat either side of them. They got out their books and sat ready; Professor Harlem had not yet appeared, and so the four spent a few minutes flicking dung balls at each other. It was a hazardous game, because you weren't careful you would release the awful smell and be the cause of the whole class's annoyance. Peter performed an artistic move on the dung ball, spinning it towards James' head. The renowned Quidditch seeker ducked just in time and Remus took his role, deftly catching the smelly ball, and putting it away when he saw the teacher enter the room."You're getting quite good at this game, aren't you Wormtail?" Sirius commented, sounding mildly shocked.Peter looked proud, but James shrugged it off, saying, "I'm not surprised, he should be used to handling bad smells by now."They laughed softly and looked to the front of the class, where Professor Harlem sat up on the desk cross-legged and regarded them all calmly. He had on the same blue robes as he had on the night of the feast, and his dark hair was combed back, falling onto his shoulders. Eventually he spoke."Hello and welcome to my lesson. My name is Professor Harlem, and I hope you enjoy the time we have together." He spoke quietly in a soft, Irish accent and looked around the room, making eye contact with each member of the class. "I'm sorry I was late, but the stairways were fucked up – I'm sure you all encountered your own problems on the way here."The students exchanged glances; they had never heard a teacher swear in a lesson before – in fact they had never heard a teacher swear. Lily turned and glared at James, who looked down ashamedly, regretting the stair stunt.Professor Harlem continued with a wry smile. "But let's not talk of the Hogwarts anarchy situation, shall we? As you know, we're here to talk about the stars. Astronomy is a fascinating subject, if you have the patience and intelligence to appreciate it..."As the speech wore on, Sirius found himself clocking off. He stared out of the window, not seeing anything, and then up at the ceiling, which inexplicably had footprints on it. Frowning, he tried to think up reasons for the muddy prints to be there, when James tapped him and brought him back to the class. Sirius raised his eyebrows."Look at the girls," James told him, pointing discreetly. Sirius did so, and was amazed. All of them, without exception, were gazing at Professor Harlem, transfixed, some leaning their chins on their hands, and some laying their heads on their arms, simply staring at him. Sirius turned back to James, disbelief etched on his face."What the hell?" he mouthed; James shrugged. Looking past him, Sirius saw that Remus had noticed the girls' irrational behaviour, too, and so had Peter, on Sirius' other side. He looked back to the front of the class, where the new professor was still talking."I myself find Astronomy to be very cathartic, so whenever you felt that life is getting too much for you, feel free to come up here and study the skies." He beamed at the class, and the girls laughed and returned the smile, while the boys continued to be dismayed.Professor Harlem turned to Lily, who had raised her hand; but under that blue gaze and his enquiring smile, she gasped, "I have no idea what I was going to say!" and put a hand over her mouth. Harlem laughed. "We'll get back to you, then."James looked at Sirius again, his eyes and mouth stretched so wide in aghast disbelief that Sirius had to give a snort of laughter. Professor Harlem didn't seem to notice the noise as he jumped rather agilely of the desk, surprising the class with such a quick movement, and picked up his copy of the textbook."I'm sorry to start the term off in such a boring way," he told them, looking genuinely apologetic, "but I want you to know about the different planets, and book-learning seems the way to start."When everyone had got their books out, Harlem told them to find the page on Mercury, as this was the closest planet to the Sun. "We can work our way out from there," he said, before letting them read the page themselves.Sirius looked down at his book. He had enjoyed Astronomy so far at Hogwarts, because he liked the concept of space and its amazing limitless, with no apparent boundaries. He wasn't sure about this new teacher though, but he thought he would give him a chance to show his worth. He started reading about Mercury._"An extremely difficult object to observe. Its rather fleeting nature was well known to early civilisations, and it was for this reason that the Greeks called it Hermes, in honour of the swift-footed messenger of the gods. The Roman equivalent of Hermes, and the name by which the planet is known today, is Mercury."_The passage went on, explaining about the planet's properties and size, but before most of the class had gotten very far, Professor Harlem cleared his throat loudly to gain their attention again and said, "I don't want you to read too much about the facts and figures, because no one really gives a shit about that rubbish. In my classes, we'll be discussing more of the legends and the magic of astronomy."Throughout the lesson he talked to them about Mercury's history and its origins, discovery and possibilities of life while they listened and took notes, but before long it was the end of the lesson. Their homework was to do further reading and research on Mercury, and Venus, the next planet they were to study. Professor Harlem exited as soon as he had finished talking, into the office at the back of his classroom, leaving the students to file out the door, discussing the lesson."For someone who claimed he doesn't want to be boring, he did a lot of talking and reading," James grumbled to Sirius."Yeah, I'm not too sure about him yet," Sirius agreed thoughtfully, then called to the Gryffindor girls ahead of them, "What did you think, ladies? Sarah, I'm sure you have an opinion?""Damn right I do, he was gorgeous!" Sarah replied enthusiastically over her shoulder."Our suspicions were proved correct!" Lily declared happily. "He was _wonderful_!"James looked annoyed and said, "Yeah, we know what you thought, Lily, going all tongue-tied! It was pathetic!" He'd meant it as a joke, but it came out quite fierce.Lily seemed affronted for a second, but recovered by asking, "Sounds like someone's jealous, doesn't it, girls?""Of course he's jealous!" Sirius laughed. "What else would you expect?" James gave him a friendly shove, which sent him spiralling into a suit of armour. "Sorry!" Sirius gasped to the empty metal knight, which had started shouting and gesticulating wildly. Sirius hurried after the others.Their next lesson, and the last of the day, was Potions, to their immense displeasure. Not only was it a dull subject, with none of the fun wand waving or incantations that they enjoyed, but also the teacher was a bore, and an unpleasant one at that. To add insult to injury, they had their classes with the Slytherins, which could never be enjoyable, whatever the situation. So it was with slow, heavy footsteps that they trudged down to the dungeons for what was their second Potions class of the sixth year. As the classroom was underground, beneath the school building, it was very cold, and the Gryffindors pulled their cloaks around them and turned their collars up, shivering as they descended further down the dank stairway.Reaching the bottom, they stamped their feet in a lame effort to keep warm, as they waited for Professor Abercrombie to arrive. James was in the process of creating a small fire for them to warm their numb hands by.Bethan, her face almost blue with the cold, cried, "Come on, James, or you'll have my cold dead body to explain here!""Ah, are you too cold, Bethan?" Sirius cooed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Because it's not like no one else is freezing their arses off, you know – you're special."Bethan stuck her tongue out at him and pulled his cloak around her more, shivering slightly less, as Abercrombie arrived as if from nowhere and opened the heavy wooden door. She waited in the doorway as they all trooped in, and closed the door behind them with a resounding boom, which reminded them all that they were now shut in for an hour, before they could escape to the sanctuary of their common rooms.The Marauders took their usual places at the back, and James took out a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, making a loud rustling noise. Remus looked round at him, and put a finger to his lips, gesturing to Abercrombie."Oh, she won't notice," James assured him in a whisper, offering the bag around. They all took a handful before the girls, in front of them, heard the rustling and held their hands out, waiting to be offered sweets. James poured ample amounts into each outstretch hand, as Abercrombie, having finished writing something a potion recipe on the board, turned to face the class."Right, class," she shrieked in her ear-piercing voice. "Today we are going to continue our work from last lesson, on Truth Potions. Now, I could tell that you were all nervous about trying out these potions," here she flashed what was perhaps meant to be a smile, as if she was being funny, but as she was unused to the practise, it came out as more of a grimace; "but trust me, we shall only ask each other innocent questions, and it will be a while yet before they will be ready to use."The Gryffindors exchanged bored glances and checked their watches, while the Slytherins looked eager to begin, no doubt keen to test their potions on each other and cause proper humiliation for their friends. Lily turned round to James, whispering, "more sweets?" with her hand held out again."Sure," James replied with a smile, passing the bag over. "Fill your boots."The lesson passed slowly, but with no drama - meaning that no Gryffindors received detention, and there were no fights between the two enemy houses. Towards the end of the hour, James and Sirius had grown very restless, so instead of taking notes from various books on the dangers of Truth Potions, had started a far more entertaining mission of sending sparks at each other under their desks, trying to set fire to things. They had to send a spark, and be careful to put out the one coming towards them, whilst being very discreet about it, so as not to alert Abercrombie. She was generally focussing on the Slytherins, however, so the boys started to lose their caution, and were getting loud when Remus and Peter began to kick both their desks furiously. Looking up, Sirius saw that Abercrombie had turned in their direction, frowning, and seeing that she was making her way towards the back of the room, sent one last spark at James, which landed on his robes beneath the desk."And how are you getting on, boys?" She asked with a definite steely tone. Sirius flinched; her voice always reminded him of his mother's, which made him hate her all the more. "Getting a lot of work done?""Yes, Professor," Sirius told her sweetly, as Remus next to him continued the innocent scratching with his quill across the parchment, trying to keep his face neutral even though he had just put a potato salad-flavoured bean into his mouth and now couldn't take it out without Abercrombie seeing. Glancing to his left, Sirius had equal difficulty keeping his own face straight as he saw his spark on James' robes start to develop into a flame. Quickly looking back up to Abercrombie's stern white face, he treated her to his most charming grin, which she didn't buy, of course, but by that time the hour was up and they were free to go.Abercrombie hurried back to the front of the class and said something about homework, but none of the Marauders heard what is was, as Remus was choking on his awful bean, James was trying to put out his fire as Sirius guffawed with laughter, and Peter was ogling Adriana, whom he was sat directly behind. 


	8. The Sirius Star

Chapter Eight: The Sirius Star

The September days grew gradually colder and wetter, until October arrived amid high winds and everyone had to accept that the holidays really had passed, and they were into autumn. There were no major exams to work for at the end of the sixth year, as it was the time between the OWLs and the NEWTs, but the teachers had already, in this first month, started working them feverishly towards that all-important final year.Sirius and James were sitting at one of the tables of the common room, actually doing some homework for a change. To keep it interesting, they indulged in a friendly competition, deciding who had the most work to do.Sirius brandished his quill at James as he declared, "I have a three foot long essay to finish for Defence Against the Dark Arts, a potion to research for Abercrombie, background reading for everything and all this revision to do for McGonagall. Beat that!"James did his best. "I've got all what you just said, plus all the work we've ever been set in History of Magic, and Quidditch practise to organise, _and_ I have to learn all this" – he banged a hand down on a vast pile of parchment next to him – "by next Monday, so fuck off there!"He settled back in his chair, looking smug, while Sirius prepared to out-do him."In case you'd forgotten, as your best team member I also have to do whatever Quidditch practise you slave-driver forces me to do. I have a test in the morning, so I have to learn all _this_" – he took hold of a load of parchments with both hands and shook them at James – "by _tonight_, so fuck off _there_!"Lily walked past them and couldn't help saying, "If you have so much to do, why don't you hurry up and get on with it?"They looked at her as if she was mad. "Don't be ridiculous," Sirius scoffed. "We never do any work, you know that." He shrugged incomprehensively at James, demonstrating his confusion at her words.Lily adopted a look of high superiority and stalked off, her chin high.The next day was a Friday, the final day of an exhaustive week in which they had been set innumerable essays and sat many gruelling tests, plus Sirius and James had had detention for three of their precious evenings. Their last lesson of the day was Astronomy, with Professor Harlem. In the past month they had grown used to the new teacher, and he had become a favourite with most of the students, including the boys. His method of teaching was unlike any they had received so far at Hogwarts, and they appreciated the change. So far they had studied Mercury, Venus and Mars, and Harlem had revealed to them many secrets of the planets, including the missions of the WISH (Wizards' Independent Space Hoppers) to the far outer reaches of the universe, which the class was excited to find, had been far more interesting and successful than Muggle trips of the kind.Today they were starting work on Jupiter, but Harlem, as usual, was reluctant to refer to the books, restrictive as they were. Nevertheless, the class dutifully read the chapter, while Harlem paced up and down restlessly, occasionally bending to make a comment to someone, or jumping up to sit on the desk, then jumping down again. Finally he cracked."Oh, I'm so bored!" he complained loudly, startling the students from their books. "Are you bored? This is boring me." He looked around the room for something that might liven up the grey afternoon, and said, "let's have some music." He pointed his wand at the old record player behind his desk, and music started up. "That's better," he said, smiling now, "no _silence_!"The Ravenclaws and Gryffindors grinned at each other; they enjoyed the impulsiveness of Harlem, and they found his non-conformist ways amusing. James and Sirius, always up for no work, slammed their books shut and started jigging in their seats to the music. Soon the whole class had given up on the reading, and Harlem was shouting and laughing at the front of the room.After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. Harlem motioned for them to open their books, but didn't turn the music off. "Come in," he called.Professor McGonagall poked her stern face around the door. "Excuse me, Professor Harlem," she said politely, her eyes darting suspiciously around the room at the quiet students, and taking in the record player. "We are trying to work next door.""Yes, so are we, actually," Harlem gave her a friendly smile, as the class stifled their laughter."Of course," McGonagall replied dryly. "Well, could you manage to work without the music on so loud, if you must have it at all?"Harlem made a downward motion with his wand at the player, and the volume dropped a little. He looked back to McGonagall enquiringly."Thank you," she said curtly, and closed the door as she left.The class erupted freely into laughter and closed their books again, as Harlem smiled quietly at their amusement. The music continued and not much work was completed after that point, until Harlem told them they were free to go and start enjoying their weekend.The class packed up and started leaving. The Marauders were last out the door, but before Sirius had got out into the corridor, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Professor Harlem."Sirius, I wanted a word with you, it'll only take a minute," he said, "and then you can go and wreak your normal Friday havoc across the school."Sirius told the others he'd catch up later, and went back into the classroom, closing the door behind him. Curious, he waited for Harlem to speak, wondering what it was about. He was pretty sure that he wasn't getting a detention, because Harlem had said before that he thought detentions were a load of rubbish, which suited the Marauders just fine.Harlem sat on the desk and looked at Sirius thoughtfully, then said, "Did you know that there's a star with your name, Sirius?" When the boy shook his head, Harlem continued. "Well, there is, and I thought you might be interested that I'm going to be up on the tower observing it tonight. Apparently it will be the brightest it's ever been for about a squillion years. Would you like to join me, and see yourself in the stars?""Yes," Sirius said, surprising himself. "I would like that, to see... Sirius."Harlem nodded and smiled. "Good, I'm going up at about ten, if you want to meet me." He reached behind him on the desk. "Here's a book which has some information on it, if you're interested. I know you're not the sort to do extra reading but – just in case." His blue eyes twinkled brightly as Sirius took the book from him, thanked him and left.When he got back to the common room, Sirius sat straight down in his favourite armchair by the crackling fire and opened Harlem's book. He found a page on Sirius, and found it very strange to see his own name in relation to the universe, as he read, _"SIRIUS (Alpha Canis Majoris). From Orion, look south and to the east to find brilliant Sirius, as if one really needs directions to find the brightest star in the sky. Its name comes from the Greek word for "searing" or "scorching," certainly appropriate for a star that shines so bright. Sirius is the luminary of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog, which represents Orion's larger hunting dog, and as such is commonly referred to as the "Dog Star.""_He was just thinking of his animagus form and how ironic it was that his star should be called the Dog Star, when Remus came over to speak to him. He looked up, surprised, as he had been absorbed in his reading."Moony, look at this," he said, eagerly holding the book up. He pointed to the first sentence and watched Remus' face as he read._"Sirius. Dog star, a brilliant white star in the constellation Canis Major, the brightest fixed star,"_ Remus read aloud, and looked back up at Sirius. "That's interesting," he commented. "Especially the dog part. Is that what Harlem was talking to you about?""Yeah, he's invited me up to observe the star with him tonight," Sirius said, then looked uncertain. "Do you think I should go?""Yeah, why not?" Remus told him confidently. "Listen, I need to talk to you..."Just at that moment James came running over, and made a show of looking shocked to see Sirius with a non-school book. "Relax, Prongs, I'm not giving up our position of Hogwarts anarchists," Sirius assured his friend lazily, putting the book away. Remus went back unnoticed to where he had been speaking with Peter before.That night Sirius headed up to the Astronomy tower, wearing his warmest cloak and looking around carefully for any roving teachers. Ten minutes later, on the school's highest floor, he saw Professor Harlem leaning against the wall which led up to the tower, his arms folded and his eyes closed. Sirius walked up to him uncertainly, and after hovering for a moment, tapped him on the shoulder.Harlem jolted awake and the bright blue eyes opened wide, darting around in surprise. When they landed on Sirius, who had quickly stepped backwards, Harlem stood up straight and smiled sleepily."Sorry, Sirius," he said, unlocking the door with an ornate, heavy-looking key. "I was waiting here for you because I know students aren't allowed up on the tower alone, and sometimes I just fall asleep too easily.""Oh, ok..." Sirius eyed his teacher warily, wondering as they went up the old stone steps whether he should have stayed within the warmth and safety of the common room.His doubts were vanished, however, as they came out onto the tower, into the fresh, crisp air with a glorious view of both the ground and the sky. The half moon shone brightly, reflecting off the still waters of the black lake, and illuminating the dark treetops of the Forbidden Forest. Looking up, Sirius saw a magnificent array of stars, and their light shone in his eyes. He remembered why he had such an interest for Astronomy.Professor Harlem watched the boy with a smiling curiosity; he could see that Sirius was in awe of the sky and its wonders, just like him, and he was glad he had invited him up here, awkward as it had proved to have been, until now. Following Sirius' gaze, he threw back his longhaired head and took in the sight of the night sky, like a velvet blanket with tiny holes cut in it.He pointed to the biggest and brightest star of all, situated to their right, and quite low on the horizon. "There," he told Sirius, who turned to look. "That's Sirius, beautiful, isn't it?"Sirius stared at the star equivalent of himself, mesmerised by its light."Did you look at the book I gave you?" Harlem asked, turning to Sirius, who looked shifty. "Don't worry if you didn't, I completely wouldn't blame you.""Oh no, I did," Sirius assured him, "and it was interesting, but then James came over before I had read very much, and I got distracted..."Harlem smiled. "Well, they can't say I didn't do my bit for Hogwarts; I tried to tame the rebels, but it just didn't work. Not that it should. I would hate for there not to be a single revolutionary around here, think how boring that would be." He mused over the idea, and then said, "Well, back to the star. I suppose I should tell you about it, being your teacher. It's part of a large asterism, called the Winter Triangle. The other two stars of this triangle are Betelgeuse in Orion, which you can see there, and Procyon in Canis Minor, the smaller dog."Sirius followed Harlem's roving finger as he pointed to the different stars he was talking about, hoping he was looking at the right ones.Harlem continued, "Sirius is the greatest of all twinklers, because of its brilliance, and is actually twenty-three times more luminous than our Sun." He turned again to his wide-eyed student and asked, "How does that make you feel?""It's quite strange," Sirius replied. "Well, it's just another star, anyway. It's only a coincidence that I have its name.""Oh, you never know," Harlem told him. "Maybe your folks named you after it."Sirius gave a dry laugh. "I don't think so somehow," he said, tearing his eyes away from the star and turning to Harlem. He was going to elaborate, but decided against it, and, leaning on the stone edge of the tower, looked away again, to the dark lake and the even darker forest beyond.Harlem surveyed him carefully; perhaps this boy had depths even more hidden than he had first predicted. "Why do you say that?" he asked.Sirius glanced at him, then back at the ground far below. "They... don't like me very much," was all he said at first, then, under Harlem's gaze, carried on, still looking stubbornly down. "It's because I'm a Gryffindor. My whole family were all Slytherins, and now my younger brother Regulus is in his second year here, in Slytherin." He fell silent, and after a few seconds glanced at Harlem again.The teacher was staring away absently towards the forest, where Sirius had been looking a moment before, and Sirius frowned, thinking that he hadn't even been listening. Then he said suddenly, "And this causes problems between you?""Well, yeah," Sirius said, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice. "I hate being in a family full of Slytherins, and a house full of dark magic. They treat me like I'm a traitor or something, but it's not my fault I have different morals from them, or any morals at all."They stayed on the tower for a long time, talking; or rather, Sirius talked and Harlem asked questions occasionally, and gave supportive answers. As the time went on, Sirius spoke more freely, and began to feel more comfortable in talking to Harlem. Within an hour, he had told him about his misery in London, and the way he was treated by his family, and how he instantly craved escape to James', which he saw as an amazingly perfect and natural home in comparison to his own, as soon as he arrived back at the Black household. After relieving these stresses to the professor, Sirius found that he had come to trust Harlem as both teacher and friend, in this short space of time. He did not offer answers, for there were none, but it felt good to talk to someone who would listen unconditionally. 


	9. Simultaneous Chats

Chapter Nine: Simultaneous Chats

The late afternoon sun finally set over the Forbidden Forest, sending spears of brilliant orange and red light over the castle and its grounds. Inside Gryffindor tower, the students worked, played or talked. In a secret corner below the stairs, the Marauders were quiet for once, discussing in hushed voices their plans for the next night: full moon. It would be their first of the new school year.Meanwhile, over on the other side of the room, the sixth year girls had their own discussion going, sitting in their favourite comfortable armchairs before the always-merry fire."So, Lil." Bethan turned to Lily, a smile playing on her lips, "Have your extreme opinions on James changed at all since you last declared your hatred for him?"Lily looked at her in surprise. "No, of course not!" she said in mock- indignation. "How dare you suggest that I could like that arrogant, big- headed whelp who calls himself a man?""Keep your voice down!" hissed Adriana, her blue eyes darting over to the boys' dark corner."Oh, he knows what I think of him," Lily told her as a reassurance, whilst chancing a glance herself over her shoulder at the Marauders."Yeah, just like you know what he thinks of you," Bethan said, as Lily turned back round to face the girls."The world," Sarah clarified the thought for them.Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, that's not my problem," she said angrily. "I don't care if he 'loves' me; I definitely feel the opposite towards him, the loathsome little..." she snarled in frustration, clenching her fists. "I'm sorry," she said, managing to sound a bit calmer. "He just makes me so mad! I hate all that arrogance, thinking he can do whatever he wants, just because he's good at Quidditch" – she made a face to demonstrate her indifference to the sport – "and clever, and just this side of the brink of being attractive."The others stared at her. They were accustomed by now to hearing her Potter rants, but never ceased to be both amused and surprised by her temper when it came to James."Well," Bethan said lightly, as beside her Lily again forced herself to calm down, "Looks like there could be romance in the air – just a joke!" she added hurriedly upon seeing Lily's face."There could be romance in the air, anyway, couldn't there?" Sarah said, and, raising an eyebrow suggestively, added, "eh, Bethan?""What?!" Bethan looked outraged, and a little pink in the face as the attention turned to her now. "What – or who – are you talking about, may I ask?"Sarah paid another furtive glance towards to the far corner, the leaned forward confidentially and whispered, "Sirius!"When Bethan looked mortified and speechless, Sarah settled back, satisfied, into her chair and folded her arms, waiting for mayhem to ensue."Really?" Lily asked, wide eyed. "And why hadn't I heard about this until now?""Heard about what? There's nothing to hear," Bethan tried lamely."Oh, please!" Sarah dropped her silence and turned to Lily, explaining, "She has such a huge crush on him and she thinks no one knows.""I do not have a huge crush on him!" Bethan exclaimed, but, under the three sets of sceptical eyes, compromised with, "okay, so maybe I have a tiny, little crush, but it's just a phase, and you only didn't notice realise because you were so caught up with 'hating' James!" She directed this accusation to Lily, whose wicked grin didn't falter, and whose green eyes stayed alight with sudden interest."I don't like that tone you used there," she joked, "But you're not getting away with this that easily. Because I happen to find this new revelation a lot more interesting than my old, boring disliking of James Potter.""If it's that boring, why don't you just give up and start loving me, like I know you want to?" said James' voice right by her ear.He jumped back quickly from her armchair as she lashed out at him, furious for being surprised. "Piss off, Potter!" she called at his retreating back as he made his way up the stairs to bed, laughing.Lily turned back, glowering, to see Bethan biting her lip worriedly."You don't think he heard about me and – you know, do you?" she asked anxiously."No, don't worry," spat Lily, still angry, "He doesn't hear anything that's not about him." She exhaled a long breath and said, "Now, what were we talking about? Oh yes – your enormous crush on Sirius.""Shh!" Bethan looked worriedly over to where the boys had been huddled, only to see that they had all now gone up with James to the dormitory. "Oh, don't worry," she said, more relaxed, "they're not there any more. I think we should shift the subject a little, anyway," she continued quickly, as Lily opened her mouth again. She turned to Adriana, asking, "You've been very quiet through all this; no doubt deciding which of the very eligible Gryffindor bachelors you like the most. Indulge us."Adriana crossed her long slim legs and laughed, before answering in her soft, lilting accent, "Oh, how could I choose? They are all so lovely.""Well, you could have any of them in a second," Bethan said, somewhat enviously, but with a friendly smile."Alright, let's get to bed," Sarah said decisively, rising from her seat."Yeah, we must keep looking good for our guys," Lily agreed. "I ask you, what would they do without us?"The others shook their heads, unable to find an answer to this riddle, as they reluctantly left the comfortable Gryffindor chairs. They weren't too upset, though, because they knew the just-as-comfortable Gryffindor beds lay waiting for them upstairs."Why the long face, Prongs?" Sirius asked as they got ready for bed."Just thinking about our Quidditch training yesterday," James lied, trying to look sincere. "It didn't go too well, and we have to play Ravenclaw next week.""It went fine, and you're lying," Sirius stated, pulling the curtains of his four-poster bed open ready to climb in. "Don't tell me the rejections of Lily Evans are finally getting to you at this late stage!" he asked with a wicked grin, and dodged a pillow which flew in his direction."Way to be supportive, 'best friend'," James grumbled, climbing between the sheets of his own bed."Sorry," Sirius said, handing back the pillow and sitting cross-legged. "What do you want to get off your chest?" he asked wearily."I just don't get her," James started his onslaught straight away. "I know she loves me, but she just keeps pushing me away.""Way to be modest," Peter muttered, smirking as he threw James' words back at him."Yeah, maybe she's a bit put-off by you being the biggest, boasting show- off the world – or at least Hogwarts – has known," Sirius suggested helpfully.James looked disgruntled as he thought about it. "No, that can't be it," he told himself, and turned his attention to Remus on the opposite side of the room. "Moony, you're generally more sensible than these two goons." Sirius grinned at the compliment. "What do you think?"Remus pulled the covers around him and considered the situation before answering, "I think you should respect Lily's opinions. She says she wants nothing to do with you." James looked taken aback. "But," Remus continued, and hope returned to his friend's face, "If you're right, and she does love you, then she obviously has a problem with the way you're going about your pursual of her."The others listened carefully to Remus' advice; in discussions such as this, he seemed to have a strange power over them, and they always took note of his words more than anyone else's."In my opinion," he continued, trying not to laugh at their enraptured faces, "She seems to be in an extreme phase of denial when it comes to you. I heard her earlier telling the girls that she hated you and so on – it all seems very unnecessary when she claims that she doesn't care either way."He had also heard them discussing Bethan's sudden fondness for Sirius, but did not mention it. His three friends stared at him a moment longer before they realised he had finished, and Sirius gave a triumphant laugh.  
  
"Man, you could be the next Dumbledore!" he crowed to Remus, who smiled indulgently. "There you are, James, there's your answer!"James looked confused. "What's my answer?""You have to respect Lily," Peter told him impatiently. "She doesn't like you being all over her all the time, so you'll have to get her another way. Right, Moony?" he checked."Yes," Remus sighed as he laid his head on the soft pillow, feeling slightly nervous about tomorrow's full moon. 


	10. Scavenging for Party Food

Cheers for the reviews, I knwo there isn't much hint of a plot yet, but I get involved with the pointless conversations, ya know? I just love these guys! Except Peter, I hate having to write about him.....

Chapter Ten: Scavenging for Party Food

Four days later and the Marauders were very tired from their full moon excursions; Remus in particular was pale and drawn, with dark circles under his eyes and scratch marks from when he had changed.

They didn't let it dampen their rebellious spirits, though, and made themselves busy working on a plan to humiliate the Slytherins, Snape being their main target, as well as already discussing ideas for next month's Animage adventures.

James had not forgotten Remus' advice concerning Lily, and he was currently organising a surprise birthday party for her upcoming seventeenth, which he hoped would get him into her good books for once. Meanwhile, Sirius and Peter were still competing for the attentions of Adriana. To Sirius', and everyone else's, surprise, she seemed so far to be less impressed by his own natural charm, which he usually found did the trick, than by with Peter's constant praise and admiration.

He was beginning to wonder, anyway, whether James hadn't been right all along, and whether Adriana, although undoubtedly beautiful, wasn't just a shell, with no real personality. He felt needed more than that to really get more interested in her, so had decided to wish the best for Peter. His trust in her as a good friend and Gryffindor were also put to the test, around the middle of November, when he was sent by James to scavenge some food supplies for Lily's party...

James was pacing about the common room, looking over a list of provisions he still required. He went over to the stairs and called up to Sirius.

"Padfoot! Can you come down here for a minute?"

There was no answer.

"Padfoot!" He shouted more urgently this time. Still no sound from the bedroom. James went up the first couple of steps and yelled "Sirius!" at the top of his voice.

A dark, dishevelled head appeared at the top of the stairs. "What?" he asked calmly.

"I need your help," James went back to the sweet, innocent tones he had used in the first place.

Sirius came down the stairs, eyeing him warily. He stopped a few steps up from James and folded his arms. "Well?"

"I need you to take a trip to the kitchens and grab some food from the elves," James explained. "For the party."

"Oh, well why didn't you just say?" Sirius asked; he was willing enough to pay a visit to any place that offered him food.

"Well, you weren't my first choice," James grumbled, "Because I know you'll probably just scoff everything. But, Moony's out on Prefect duty with Lily, and Wormtail says he's busy doing some essay or something."

"It's good to know that nothing stops you from calling me when you're in need," Sirius said, poker-faced.

"Yeah, nothing except you _not answering_," James retorted through gritted teeth. "But listen, you can't eat anything; for one thing, it's for Lily's party, and for another you can't get all bloated and heavy for the match against Ravenclaw this week."

"Okay, fine," Sirius agreed, "If you think you can trust me, I'll do it. Cloak," he demanded, holding out a hand. James deposited his Invisibility Cloak into it; Sirius exchanged it to his other hand, saying, "Map", and receiving the Marauders' Map. "Some sort of bag to put the food in?" he asked.

"I'm sure the elves can provide you with something." James pushed his friend towards the portrait hole. "Now, go."

He sighed exasperatedly as the hole closed behind Sirius. "You'd think it was a simple task, getting someone to go down to the kitchens, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah," agreed Sarah, who had been sitting on a nearby sofa, watching the whole scene with great amusement, "Even something you could do yourself, James."

Sirius stumbled out of the common room, swinging the Cloak around himself and unrolling the map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he muttered, and, after checking no unwanted characters were lurking nearby, set off for the kitchens, marvelling at the genius of the Marauders for creating such a map.

After about half an hour, he emerged from the hot kitchens, lugging a huge sack full of party treats and drinks with him. Those elves were generous, that's for sure. They never even questioned the boy's need for so much food at nine thirty on a Tuesday night.

Setting off, he checked the map again; he saw Filch sitting in his grimy office, Abercrombie in the Potions classroom, probably fixing up a nice poison, he thought, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall in the Headmaster's room, but his pathway back to Gryffindor Tower was clear as he trod the well-worn steps of a hungry student.

Halfway back, Sirius thought he heard a noise, of voices or something, nearby, and he silently got out the map again. Checking along the third floor corridor, where he was currently standing, he saw nothing, and put the sound he had heard down to ghosts. As he went to roll up the map again, he noticed a huddle of black inky dots, at the opposite end of the school from where he was. Squinting slightly, he peered at the names in the torchlight, and his eyes narrowed further when he saw the names of several of the slimiest Slytherins, Severus Snape of course being among them, as well as his own brother Regulus, the little whelp Lucius Malfoy, and his hateful cousin Bellatrix. There were five dots in all though, and Sirius' expression clouded with confusion when he saw the name Adriana Balavoine labelling the last one.

"What the hell is she doing with them?" he asked himself. After a second or two more of staring at the map, he made up his mind to go and find out, but at that moment he saw Filch's label coming out of his room, just along the corridor from where he was standing. He hurried back to the common room, intending to tell James what he had seen, and feel reassured that it was nothing.

However, upon arriving back at the tower, he was distracted by the entire population of the common room trying to get at the bulging sack of treats he was carrying, and had forgotten about Adriana' apparent late night rendezvous with the Slytherins by the time they had got the food up to their dormitory, almost all of it still there.

"Ah, now I know what it's like to be Santa," Sirius smiled contentedly as they set to work charming the food so that it would stay fresh and tasty for the party next week.

"Well, except Santa generally lets the children have the presents he brings," James commented.

"You always have to ruin things, don't you?" Sirius grumbled. At the prospect of a good party, his worry of earlier on had been banished to the far reaches of his mind, to be rediscovered a long time from now. 


	11. First match of the season

Chapter Eleven: First match of the season

The day of the Gryffindors' match against Ravenclaw arrived in no time. It was not in James and Sirius' nature to get nervous before a game, but they always got excited and hyper, even more so than usual. Rivalry occurred between the two teams, but Slytherin wasn't involved, so it was all friendly; meaning fun, harmless hexes were sent each way between lessons, and various players missed lessons due to feathers sprouting and voice boxes being humorously modified and other cases of the sort.The two Marauder leaders, being the most famous members of the current Gryffindor team, received the bulk of these friendly attacks. Between them, they paid seven visits to the school's Hospital Wing, with maladies such as horns growing from their heads, one leg becoming shorter than the other so that they had to limp about everywhere, abnormal skin colours (such as bright shades of green and blue), and buckets stuck on heads. Sirius had to lead James carefully to the infirmary for this particular ailment, as his sight was marred by the bucket, amid crowds roaring with laughter. What Sirius didn't realise, however, was that a fair share of the hilarity was aimed at him, due to a hex, thrown at him earlier that day from one of the Ravenclaw Chasers Billy Budweiser, which had turned his brown hair to a rather shocking pink. Sirius hadn't noticed this change yet, having not seen a mirror, and everyone including the other Marauders thought it so funny that no one had told him.Not that any of the players had any problem with this, of course; it gave them a chance to miss lessons and to create anarchy in the corridors, and Sirius and James gave as good as they got.So, on Saturday morning in the Gryffindor common room, there was an air of excited expectation. The team emerged from their various rooms to cheering and, in the Marauders' cases, more laughter. When lessons had finished the day before and they had returned to the tower, Sirius had at last seen a mirror and was aghast at the sight of his luminous new hair colour. The others had fallen about laughing, Remus saying that they had had bets on how long it took Sirius to look in a mirror, anyway. Sirius eventually saw the joke, and laughed along gallantly, then, deciding he felt sorry for his friends because they couldn't fully join in, he granted James blue hair, Remus green and Peter yellow. He found he could laugh much harder after that, despite James' complaints that no one was wearing the Gryffindor colours, and Peter looked like a Ravenclaw supporter.As a consequence, the five other members of the team had their hair turned to shining golden, which looked perfect atop the scarlet Quidditch robes. Now James and Sirius looked even more out of place, and it gave Lily the opportunity to accuse them of trying to be different whatever they did."Padfoot always played for the pink team anyway," James told her over breakfast, and dodged a croissant which quickly came flying in his direction. "You'll have to do better than that later on, mate, if you want to keep your place as Beater," he grinned.The two teams came onto the pitch to a cacophony of cheers, each house still trying to out-do each other. The Gryffindors were very eye-catching with their newly done hair and the bright red robes. James shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain, a seventh year called Toby Barrett, team keeper, and a friend of the Gryffindors."May the best team win," he told James, smiling broadly."And I'm sure we will," James returned. A second later the whistle blew and all fourteen players, plus referee (Charms teacher Professor Swift) soared up above the crowds and got to their places. James immediately flew above everyone else and started searching for the Snitch. He kept moving at all times, not wishing to be hit by a Bludger, or be caught up by the opposing Seeker, a slight fourth year with fly-away curly blonde hair called Jill.Ravenclaw had possession of the Quaffle first, and were dangerously close to scoring until Sirius decided to put things right by pelting a Bludger towards one of their Chasers. The Chaser in question, a lean dark-haired fifth year called Dean, dropped the big red ball in his efforts to dodge the Bludger, leaving Steven Brown, one of Gryffindor's finest, to catch it and head towards the opposite goalposts, yelling, "cheers, Sirius!" on his way to scoring the first goal of the match.Within half an hour, the teams were close in scores, Ravenclaw with sixty and Gryffindor with fifty. The Lions weren't worried, however, for they knew that they had the better Seeker, and James had been performing better than ever during the training sessions. He caught sight of the Snitch as the Ravenclaws were rejoicing after their sixth goal, and sped towards it, noticing Jill was distracted by the early celebrations.The tiny golden ball was hovering half way down one of the goal posts, fluttering its wings innocently. James was far above it, trying desperately to speed up his broom as the crowd noticed his determination with excitement. Jill separated from the group and followed James, brushing the curls from her face as she tried to catch him up."Go on Prongs!" bellowed Sirius from the other side of the pitch, but James pulled up short; the Snitch had disappeared again. The scarlet and gold section of the crowd let out a disappointed moan as their Seeker circled slowly back upwards, and the Slytherins jeered, delighting in their enemies' setback.The Lions' mood increased considerable when their second Chaser Charlie Cooper scored them two more goals in quick succession, and the Ravens started to feel worried when they missed a penalty awarded to them when Sirius' fellow Beater, a hot-tempered girl named Helen, hit one of the Chasers in the head with a Bludger. Unsurprisingly, said Chaser missed all three goalposts, even though he must have been seeing two sets of them.Sirius and Helen did a joyous high five as he congratulated her on her fiery temper, but a second later he'd been winded by a Bludger to the gut. Managing to hang onto his broom as he did a somersault in the air, Sirius looked round to see the retreating back of Marley Branson, a powerful Ravenclaw Beater. Catching his breath, Sirius vowed to get back at the huge, burly seventh year. Unlike the other Ravenclaws, Branson didn't like to get too friendly with the opposite team, and kept himself to himself, which made him all the more intimidating. Sirius continued with the game, ignoring a slight stomach ache, but made sure he intercepted all the moves that Branson attempted. If he couldn't beat him by strength, then he'd beat him by being annoying, Sirius told himself with a grim smile.Narrowing his eyes and searching all around the pitch, James regretted turning all his team members' hair gold, as he kept mistaking their heads for the Snitch. He suddenly saw Jill racing towards the ground and followed suit in a flash of red, before she pulled up sharply. Looking above her, James saw the Snitch had darted upwards, and turned direction so he was racing towards the heavens. In less than a minute he had the tiny ball in his raised fist, its delicate wings beating uselessly.He was engulfed by his six team-mates as they lighted on the ground together as one red block, and the cheering of the crowd nearly drowned out their own shouts of rejoice. James and the others were carried to the school doors on the shoulders of the Gryffindors, as though they had already won the cup. Their win of this first game had hopefully set the tone for the rest of the tournament.Once back at the common room, the party and celebrations lasted throughout the afternoon and into the evening, homework forgotten and left for Sunday (as it generally was, anyway). James tried to protect the food he had gathered for Lily's party, but Remus and Sirius brought it all down to be consumed by the happy Gryffindors. James told them that they would have to replenish it in the morning, but they didn't care for now. 


	12. Lily's party

Chapter Twelve: Lily's party

The weekend after the First Quidditch Match Party was Lily's surprise party. James had managed to keep it a secret, despite lots of the excitable first and second years getting, well, excited about the second big party of the term. Remus had attempted to have a quiet word with James, telling him maybe he should tone it down a bit, seeing as there were going to be eleven and twelve year olds present. As usual, James had shouted him down (not literally); he was so intent on showing Lily a good time and how much he cared for her that he was letting nothing stand in his way. Sirius, who still sported pink hair because every time he attempted to return it to brown, either James or Remus (or Billy Budweiser) would immediately take it upon themselves to change it back, much to their amusement, had sided with James on this nonetheless, always being one for a good party."Moony," James told Remus seriously, "I know you're the most responsible of us, and I also know you're right about the younger ones – so I'm appointing you responsible for them, and that means getting them to go to bed at a reasonable time, okay?"Ignoring Remus' stunned silence, James moved right on to something else that needed to be done for the party that evening, leaving Sirius to comfort his friend."Bad luck, mate," he said, trying not to laugh at Remus' mouth hanging open. "That's gonna be one hell of a job, especially trying to control that little brat Paul Helter." The brat in question was currently chasing some of his first year classmates around the common room, oblivious, or maybe not, to the girls' extreme irritation."Do not let him near the Butterbeer, let alone the Firewhiskey," Sirius advised. "He's not nicknamed Helter Skelter for nothing." He slapped Remus on the shoulder and made to walk away, but Moony grabbed his arm."He can't do that to me," he gasped, finding his voice at last.Sirius laughed. "I would agree," he said, "because he can't boss us around, but the fact is, you're a prefect, so it's your responsibility, anyway. You've done it to yourself, mate." As Remus opened his mouth but could find no argument, he carried on, "Don't worry, I'll help you get the scamps in order.""Oh, please," Remus dismissed this offer of help. "Padfoot, you'll be gone within half an hour of this party – either on Firewhiskey or with some girl upstairs."Sirius looked mildly affronted, then grinned and accepted the accusation. "Yeah," he admitted, and, walking away from a still unhappy Remus, muttered to himself, "What a comedy."The common room was decorated, the food and drinks were laid out on trestle tables specially conjured for the occasion, the whole tower had been magically sound-proofed by James and Sirius so that anyone outside wouldn't be able to hear what was going on inside, any valuables had been stored away safely; now all they needed was Lily. All the Gryffindors except Lily, Sarah and Adriana were waiting in the darkened common room for the three girls to come back from the library. Lily, being the academic type, hadn't been difficult to persuade to spend the day working in there, while everyone else helped with preparations.Now, at nine, her two friends were supposed to be bringing her back, and everyone, especially James, hoped she would be both surprised and delighted with what she found. The Marauders and Bethan crouched behind the sofa nearest to the door; they were the first to hear Sarah say the password ("Cripes, mate!"), and Bethan whispered, "Here she comes!" Sirius put a hand over her mouth, as the portrait swung open and the three figures clambered in."Oh, why is it so dark?" Lily asked in puzzlement. A couple of younger students giggled, to James' annoyance, but at the next moment the cue went, the lights came on and the whole common room leapt up shouting, "SURPRISE!" at the top of their lungs.Lily screamed in genuine shock and stepped back, crushing Adriana's toes and tripping over. Everyone hesitated, wondering if she was alright and whether she'd be angry, but she got to her feet straight away, laughing her head off. All the Gryffindors joined in, and James felt most relieved of all.They all rushed over to hug her and wish her happy birthday; the Marauders gave her the birthday bounces and finally James asked her, "Were you surprised?""Only the most fucking surprised I've ever been!" she replied, surprising him in turn with the obscenity, which he had rarely, if ever, heard her use. "Did you do all this?" she asked, smiling at him."Yeah, I – I thought you'd like it," he replied, feeling glad, but quite weak-kneed with the reception he'd received. "You really like it?" he needed some assurance. "I wanted to get into your good books for once.""And your pants," Sirius said into her ear as he brought them both Butterbeers."Get lost, Padfoot!" James said lightly, taking the drink."Oh, that's nice!" Sirius pretended to be hurt. "After all the help I gave you organising the party, now you're brushing me aside just to talk to the girl you've been in love with six years." He beamed happily at the two, apparently unaware, with a bottle of Firewhiskey already in his hand, of the sudden embarrassment he had brought to the conversation."Sirius, don't you have some girls to talk to?" James prompted his best friend."That I do," Sirius grinned devilishly, "That I do. Catch ya later." He turned abruptly in the general direction of any girls and sauntered off, leaving the couple to try and shake off the awkward air.Lily soon gave up, saying, "Well, thanks, James, I really appreciate it. And I'm surprised you had the brains to organise something like this," She smiled and quickly headed off in the same direction as Sirius, to join her friends.James gazed after her, his head on one side and a grin on his face. "She loves me!" he sighed, oblivious to Remus' desperate nearby attempts to stop Helter Skelter getting to the alcohol.The party continued well into the night, and luckily the soundproofing charm lasted that long, too. By one o'clock Sirius had disappeared upstairs with a couple of seventh year girls, as Remus had predicted; Peter was doing well with Adriana; James was pursuing Lily unrelentingly, and she was being equally unrelenting to his advances; and Remus himself had given up trying to keep the younger ones away from the Butterbeer and Firewhiskey, and had become involved, though he was not sure how it had started, in a drinking competition with Paul Helter. He was slightly disturbed to find that he was losing, and had to be held upright in his chair by lots of little first year hands.The next morning the place was a wreck, and so were many of the students. Drink had been spilt and food had been trodden into the thick red carpets, furniture was turned over, and people were crashed out on the floor and on the stairs leading to the dormitories.In the sixth year boys' room, things were not much better. The four Marauders had managed to find their beds, and had fallen asleep on them with bottles still in their hands, and, in Sirius' case, a girl on either side of him. All was peaceful. Until Peeves the poltergeist entered through a wall, and, seeing the carnage, got annoyed that he hadn't been involved and decided to annoy everyone else by screaming at the top of his lungs, "WAKEY WAKEY!! RISE AND SHINE!" and zooming around the room and up and down the stairs pelting anyone he saw with leftover food.Up in the bedroom Sirius sat bolt upright, knocking one of his girls onto the floor. The empty Firewhiskey bottle dangling from Remus' hand fell to the floorboards with a smash. Peter jerked awake, hitting his head on his bedpost where he had been lying with his head hanging over the side of his mattress. James simply fell off his bed, landing next to Sirius' girlfriend with a dull thud and a dull 'ow'.Pandemonium ensued down in the common room. The two seventh-year girls realised they'd been had by the promiscuous Sirius Black and ran down the stairs and up to their own room, dodging the many hung-over people racing around, dozily trying to hit Peeves with spells and trying to get him out. The Marauders went back to sleep until dinnertime, James simply nodding back off on the hard floorboards, half under his bed, and Sirius not even noticing that he was now alone. 


	13. James' plan didn't really work

Chapter Thirteen: James' plan didn't really work

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise from JK Rowling's books belong to her, and not me, obviously. I would never do that to Sirius..... (That counts for all chapters before this, as I forgot to include a disclaimer until now).  
  
That weekend, little if any work was done by any Gryffindor, which resulted in a record number of detentions being given out, mostly by Professor Abercrombie. Luckily, the house elves came up and cleaned the entire common room; the job took hours, even with their expert hands. No teachers seemed to have found out about the party, which was another very good thing.  
  
Most of the students stayed in bed all day, occasionally rising to see if they felt any better, then quickly lying back down again. The Marauders didn't even get up once before the evening, let alone venture downstairs. Sirius woke up blearily sometime in the early afternoon, to a pounding head and Remus' repeated mutters of "I will not throw up, I will not throw up", in the bed next to him. He felt he could not face this, so in an effort to feel better, transformed into his dog form and curled up into a warm ball in the comforting darkness under his bed.  
  
Hours later, the sky was nearly black through the window and the common room was subdued. People lounged about on the settees or on the floor, drinking lots of water filled with headache tablets. Even the extra-strong, Wizard-style pills only did a little for Remus' head, and he hunched over in his seat, staring across the room through glazed, puffy eyes.  
  
"There he is," he glowered to Peter next to him, indicating Paul Helter who was behaving in an aggravatingly chirpy manner and talking too loudly in his high voice. "The little bastard. He should never have let me drink so much."  
  
"Remus, don't talk so loud," Peter moaned into his hands, sprawled back on the settee.  
  
"Or at all," James added, as Lily, Bethan, Adriana and Sarah headed their way, looking highly amused at the sight of them.  
  
"Ah, the aftermath of a Marauder party," Bethan said wistfully, plonking herself between Remus and James. "How ya feeling, guys?"  
  
"Kill me, kill me now," Remus answered.  
  
"That was a nice job you made of looking after the little ones, Remus," Sarah commented, sitting opposite him. The girls laughed at his groaned "Shut up". Adriana sat herself next to Peter, who for once didn't immediately start gazing adoringly up at her.  
  
At that moment a loud bang got everyone groaning louder, and they looked up with narrowed eyes as Sirius emerged from the bedroom and staggered down the stairs, holding one hand to his head and gripping the banister very tightly with the other. Reaching the bottom, he saw that there was no room for him on the settees, so he lay down on the floor at his friends' feet.  
  
"Evening, Sirius," Lily said into his ear, and giggled at his moan and his feeble attempt to swat her away. Feeling a bit guilty, she fetched him a glass of water, which he poured over his head.  
  
At breakfast the next day, most of the Gryffindors had recovered after a good night's sleep, but were still displeased with having to face another week of classes, for which hardly any of them had done their work. Out of the sixth years, only Lily was completely chipper. She had enjoyed her birthday party immensely, and could handle her drinks much better than most others; not to mention she had completed all her work in the library before the party.  
  
James, Peter and even Remus managed to get a bit of bacon sandwich down, the first food they eaten, nut Sirius couldn't even look at the food. He had only come down to the Great Hall because he didn't want to be left alone upstairs.  
  
"This has got to go into the book of impossible happenings," James said. "Padfoot's not eating."  
  
"Lily," Sirius croaked, leaning towards her. "Why are those to seventh year girls looking at me?"  
  
"Gee, let me think..." Lily pretended to consider the question carefully. "If I remember correctly, you did spend a lot of time entertaining you up in your dormitory, Sirius – maybe that has something to do with it."  
  
Sirius tried to check them out discreetly. "Really?" he asked, interest renewing. "Go, Padfoot!" he commended himself, a shadow of the old grin passing his pale features. He waved down the table at the two girls and they giggled and blushed at his attentions.  
  
Their first lesson was History of Magic, which was for once a blessing, as it didn't involve any participation, and even less brainwork. Sirius lay his head down on the desk and went to sleep as Professor Binns talked about the preferred lifestyle of trolls and how it has developed over the centuries; it had not, they still lived in caves if they could help it. Everyone else soon followed Sirius' lead, and fell into a doze under the influence of Binns' most unmotivating lecture yet.  
  
Remus and Lily were sitting next to each other, trying their hardest to take a few notes and at least pay attention, but it was very hard, and they were forced to forget their shared reputation as responsible, hard-working prefects. They instead chose to discuss the party in a whispered conversation.  
  
"I remember the first couple of hours," Remus said in hushed tones, "But after that it becomes blurred and I definitely can't remember going to bed."  
  
Lily giggled. "That's because you collapsed, just fell asleep in your chair, and we had to carry you upstairs."  
  
Remus looked horror-struck at this news. "We? Who's we?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I think it was me, Bethan, James and Steven Brown," she told him, unable to keep the smile from her lips.  
  
"Oh, and I suppose the little first year brats found it hilarious," he grumbled, imagining the scene.  
  
"Yes, for sure," she answered. "That little Helter Skelter was most pleased with himself for causing a prefect five years his senior to fall unconscious."  
  
"What I want to know is how the hell he's learned to carry his drink better than me?" Remus asked, his eyes wide with wonder. "I mean, I know I'm not exactly a hard drinker, but – he's eleven years old!"  
  
Lily laughed, putting a hand over her mouth. "You must be so embarrassed!" she said, and laughed further at Remus' unamused expression.  
  
"Next time," he vowed, wagging a finger, "I'll show that little dweeb... you'll have to help me, Lil, you didn't have so much as a headache on Sunday." He frowned at her questioningly, then grinned wickedly. "You must have had a lot of practice."  
  
"No!" she denied. "I'm just good at handling alcohol – all us girls are; you boys are just pansies!"  
  
"Tell that to Sirius," Remus told her, smiling, but looking slightly envious. "He managed to go to bed with the two best-looking girls in the seventh year, even when he was pissed and revolting."  
  
"Trust me, in a woman's opinion, Sirius Black is never revolting," Lily told him, her green eyes glinting. When Remus looked even more disgruntled, she added, "If it makes you feel better, those girls would have gone with anyone, between you and me, and Sirius can't remember anything about it, anyway."  
  
"Yeah, but still, the fact remains that he was up there having a great time with them," Remus answered, "While I was getting literally hammered by a bunch of horrible little kids in a drinking game!"  
  
His grave expression gave way to mirth as Lily shrieked with laughter, then stifled it quickly with her hand and they silently shook with laughter, oblivious of having woken up the rest of their class even including Sirius. Professor Binns droned on...


	14. Poor, poor Sirius

Thankyou for the reviews, especially libyanauthor, you're very kind!

Chapter Fourteen – Poor, poor Sirius

"Well, Padfoot, we got through it," James said, falling onto his favourite squashy armchair underneath the stairs. "We got through a school day with the worst hangover we've braved yet. And we didn't get any detentions.""Only because we were too exhausted to cause any trouble," Sirius said, settling in the settee next to James' chair. "I feel quite ashamed. Maybe this should be our week off.""Yeah, then we can do some proper good stuff next week," James agreed, rubbing his hands together gleefully in anticipation.Peter and Adriana sat down together opposite the two friends. Sirius looked over in surprise, taking in their entwined hands. "What's going on here, then?" he asked. "You two a couple?""Yep," Peter answered happily, and turned to Adriana for a kiss. James and Sirius averted their gaze. Sirius, feeling only a slight twinge of jealousy, wondered how much love there was between the couple, then reprimanded himself for doubting his friend like that.The portrait hole opened and Lily and Bethan came in, laughing about something. They made to go up the stairs, but James called them over."Lily, did you like the party?" he asked when they came over to the group."Oh, James, I loved it, thank you so much," she answered, a happy smile on her face."Good, I didn't almost die for nothing, then," Sirius muttered. Bethan laughed at the memory of him 'almost dead'."I thought Remus must have done most of the organisation, but when I asked him he said it was all you," Lily continued to James. "So well done there. And it was very thoughtful of you to arrange a party for me; it's made me rethink my opinions slightly."James' face broke into a happy, proud grin at these words; his plan seemed to be working – she like him!"But I still don't want to go out with you," Lily finished, wiping the smile from his face. "I'm sorry," she said. "Bethan, are you coming upstairs?""Yeah – night-night, boys," Bethan said, ruffling Sirius' hair. They all bid each other good night, and James watched Lily go, one hand clutched over his heart."James, darling!" Sirius cried in his most camp voice, unable to let this opportunity for teasing his friend go. "Your face is such a picture of misery, I may cry!""He's a complete moody tosser, you mean," Peter added, taking his eyes of Adriana and trying to join in."Shut up, Wormtail," James snapped, and went up the stairs to bed.Sirius turned to Peter desperately. "You always have to take it too far, don't you?"December quickly arrived, and with it cold winds, lots of homework, excited, Christmassy expectation and eventually snow. The snow swirled about over the school grounds all through the day and night; sometimes thick, huge flakes fell and other times it was barely visible in the air, but it collected on the ground, the drifts deepening by inches every day.Inside the school, there was one week left before the end of term, and the teachers had kindly taken it upon themselves to smother their poor exhausted students with holiday homework. The Marauders were getting on well; in the two weeks since Lily's party they had thought up and performed a record number of pranks on Snape and his slimy friends. These included turning his whole body, including clothes and hair, green (they had played with the idea of turning him red to annoy him, but in the end thought this would be too disrespectful to Gryffindor); stripping him to his underwear, with use of wands, in the middle of a corridor on a number of occasions; causing his Truth Potion to bubble over and spill all over him in the lesson, so he had no choice but to be absolutely truthful for a while; and, their personal favourite, performing Wingardium Leviosa on him early one morning so that he floated up to the ceiling of the Great Hall and remained there for a whole day without being found.James had not gotten any further in his plan with Lily; although he had managed to be a lot less arrogant lately, the endless cruelty, in her eyes, to Snape did not do him any favours. She was particularly dismayed when the greasy Slytherin ended up nearly naked in front of a big crowd of students, for the third time that week, by cause of James."Don't you ever get tired of causing discomfort to those less fortunate than you?" she demanded of James in the common room that evening."Well, to be fair, seeing Snape in his undies is a cause for discomfort for everyone concerned, Lily," James told her, his face serious. "In fact, I'd say everyone else was worse off than him in that situation.""Then why do you do it?" Lily asked, really wanting an answer.James shrugged, no remorse on his face. "It's just a bit of harmless fun," he said."Well, so is this!" Lily emptied the nearly full goblet of pumpkin juice she had been drinking from onto his head, and stood with her hands on her hips."Score," Remus muttered, glancing up from reading a Charms textbook to relish the sight of his friend covered in sticky orange liquid. Lily slumped down next to him, glaring, and folded her arms."He deserved that," she snapped to Remus, obviously expecting him to stick up for James."You don't have to tell me."Sirius came hurtling down the stairs and leapt deftly over the banister to land cat-like on the floor. "James, are we – heh heh heh..."He'd meant to ask James about Quidditch practice, but couldn't help but laugh upon seeing his friend there, still standing in the same position, the juice dripping from his face.No sympathy showed on Sirius' laughing face as he commented, "Snivellus had his dignity taken one too many times, eh?"Lily gave an angry 'humph' in reply, as the portrait hole opened and Bethan and Sarah entered, both looking impossibly excited. They rushed over to where the others were sitting in their usual place, and were practically jumping up and down; they couldn't get any words out. Sirius, who grew impatient easily, swept Bethan off her feet and swung her round, asking, "What? What do you want to say?" right into her face.Sarah stopped laughing giddily long enough to point at Bethan and say, "Guess who just asked her out?"Sirius stopped in mid-swing and set a grinning Bethan down again. James continued vanishing the pumpkin juice with his wand, though he was listening interestedly. Remus calmly looked over the top of his book, and Lily looked up from glowering about James, her eyes wide as she asked, "Ooh, who?"Sarah looked at Bethan, who said, "You tell them."The blonde girl didn't need telling twice. "Marley Branson!" she cried, and Lily gasped in excitement."Who?" James asked, his face now clean."Marley Branson!" repeated Sarah. "The impossibly fit seventh year from Ravenclaw – he's a Beater on their Quidditch team.As realisation hit him, Sirius whipped a hand to his mouth, horrified. "The one who practically knocked a hole in my stomach with a Bludger?" he asked, taking a step back from Bethan."Yes!" she answered excitedly, ignoring the boys' less than enthusiastic response and pulling the two girls up to their dormitory to discuss Branson and the afternoon's event."So, what did you say?" Lily asked happily."Yes, of course!" Bethan answered, sounding shocked by such a nonsensical question.Sirius slumped down next to Remus, his bright mood vanished. Suddenly he realised his feelings for Bethan, too late. His stomach plummeted a few feet more when he thought about the moody, intimidating Beater being with her, holding her in his huge, muscular arms.James sat opposite him. "What's up, Padfoot?" he asked in surprise. "You fancy Bethan?"Sirius nodded in a daze. "So it would seem. But I only just realised it.""Damn." James showed more sympathy than Sirius had to him earlier. "How do you feel now?""A sucking wound where once there was a heart," Sirius announced theatrically, holding both hands over his chest."Well, you know," Remus began wisely, and Sirius turned to him, obviously expecting comfort from the wise Moony, "at the end of the day, it's the luck of the draw.""You win some, you lose some," James added, quickly clocking on."Yar," Remus agreed solemnly.Sirius glared at them angrily. Then: "Oh, just bugger off."Later that evening, James and Remus were playing chess while Sirius got on with some homework for a change. Lily came down the stairs and straight for their table."Remus?" she asked. They all looked up. Remus looked expectant."It's Tuesday," she clarified.Remus looked blank. "Oh, right, Prefect duty," he said after a second. "See you later, guys," he saluted the others farewell and left through the portrait hole with Lily.James stared after him jealously. "He's so lucky," he whined. "He gets to spend a whole evening once a week, alone with her.""That's life," Sirius muttered, without looking up from his Potions essay. He was still sore about Bethan. 


	15. Prefect Duty, and Another Shock for Siri...

Chapter Fifteen: Prefect Duty, and Another Shock for Sirius  
  
"So, Bethan's pretty pleased about that Marley guy, I gather," Remus commented when he and Lily had been patrolling the fourth floor for about ten minutes, keeping a sharp eye for trouble-makers.  
  
"God, yeah, definitely!" Lily agreed, grinning. "Wouldn't you be?" At Remus' raised eyebrows, she quickly corrected herself. "I meant – I would be."  
  
"Okay." Remus gave her a funny look before asking with a grin, "Is he a bit of a stud, then?"  
  
"Have you seen him?" Lily replied vehemently. Remus thought about it. He had seen Marley Branson, and pictured him now. He was about average height, but very sturdy with muscles everywhere and a moody, brooding look to his dark face.  
  
"I thought you didn't like big, muscelly guys," Remus said, remembering a conversation the girls had had a while ago, which the Marauders had listened to.  
  
"Yeah, but he's not disgustingly muscelly, he's... perfectly muscelly," Lily answered in Marley's defence. "And those eyes, so deep and brooding..." she saw Remus' face and snapped back. "Oh sorry, you're lovely too!" she added.  
  
Remus laughed. "The sympathy vote," he commented amiably, then thought about it and said, "I don't know, he sounds too much like a Muggle reggae singer to me."  
  
Before Lily could answer, he changed the subject, remarking, "The hallways are quiet this evening. It's not like Hogwarts to be so devoid of trouble- makers."  
  
"I'm sure the Marauders have something up their sleeves," Lily said darkly. "The calm before the storm."  
  
"I hadn't heard them discussing anything," Remus replied. "Anyway, they wouldn't do anything too fun without me..."  
  
He trailed off as they reached the stairs going down to the third floor, and Lily was about to make a smart answer when a wall of stench hit them, making them step back the way they had come.  
  
"That would be why no one's around," Remus said, his voice muffled from his sleeve that he held over his face in an effort to block the smell. Lily nodded in agreement, as she coughed into her own cloak sleeve.  
  
A roar of rage made them look fearfully at each other, and they realised Filch was on the hunt.  
  
"Come on!" Remus grabbed her arm and ran back the other way, away from Filch's coarse yelling. They stopped running when they reached the library, which they thought was a safe enough distance away, and tried to catch their breath, bent over with hands on knees.  
  
"Why – did you – run away?" Lily gasped eventually.  
  
Remus stared at her. "Did you not hear him?" he asked in amazement. "He would have skinned us alive!"  
  
"But we didn't do anything," she protested. "We're prefects!"  
  
"It doesn't matter to Filch, and student is his enemy," Remus told her. "And besides, you may have a clean slate, but I'm a Marauder."  
  
"Oh, like you're an integral part of the group!" Lily teased. "We all know it's Sirius and James who – ooh, I bet it was James who let that stink bomb off!" she realised. "If it was him, I'll –"  
  
"Do what?" Remus asked, wanting to get her back for saying he wasn't important to the Marauders. "Cover him in pumpkin juice again? He'll see it coming this time."  
  
Lily laughed. "It was good for a one-time thing, though," she said, "the look on his face, I'll never forget it! He was so surprised that someone dared to upset his perfect face!"  
  
She sat down on a chair outside the library doors. They had both recovered from the dash from Filch now.  
  
"Why do you hate him so much, anyway?" Remus asked.  
  
"I don't hate him," Lily answered. "I hate the way he is, and what he represents, I suppose. All that arrogance, thinking he can do whatever he wants. I mean, I am by no means a fan of Snape, but he doesn't deserve all the crap you guys give him."  
  
"You know what? I agree," Remus told her, feeling guilty and useless. "But I'm too much of a pansy to make them stop."  
  
"You're not a pansy, you're just..." She stopped and he waited, eyebrows raised. "You have some sense of decency, at least," she finished, grinning.  
  
Remus sat down against the wall next to her chair. He found himself disappointed with this answer, but made himself smile up at her, and he asked, "What should I tell James, then? You're obviously not impressed, even by the standards of his party-throwing skills. What do you want?"  
  
"What do I want?" she repeated in surprise, leaning forward on her elbows as she thought about it. "That's a serious question, Remus."  
  
He looked up at her. "You may as well answer, now that I've asked," he said evenly.  
  
"I suppose I want someone who doesn't rate himself higher than he deserves, someone who's kind, funny, a good friend, easy to get along with... I want James Potter to be taken down a peg or two," she finished on a more humorous note.  
  
"That's a long list," Remus said quietly. "Do you think you'll be able to find someone to fit that criteria?"  
  
"I can think of one person," she answered even more quietly, slipping down off the chair to sit next to him. He glanced down and put a hand on her arm; she touched his face, bringing him closer. Just before they kissed she looked deep into his eyes, and noticed all the colours there. Brown, green, blue, grey; like the sea after a storm...  
  
In the Gryffindor common room, Sirius was getting into his work for once, and was putting a lot of effort into his Charms essay. Next to him James was finishing a game of chess with Peter. He was winning, as usual, but this time Peter's excuse was that Adriana kept smiling at him from across the room, where she was sitting with the other girls.  
  
"I need a book from the library," Sirius announced, moving his feet from where they had been resting on the table in front of him, while he wrote his essay using his knees as support.  
  
"Alright, Padfoot, but," James looked up at him anxiously, "Do you know where it is?"  
  
Smiling maliciously, Sirius whispered a winning move in Peter's ear and left the room, his grin widening as he heard Peter crowing with victory and James cursing.  
  
He walked quickly in the direction of the library, wanting to get this essay over with. He only needed the book for a few extra details, but he had been told by Professor Swift that if he didn't put a lot more effort into his work, then he wouldn't be doing himself justice and his NEWTs next year could suffer badly. Sirius knew how important those exams were, and felt he could deal with James' teasing that he had become a nerd.  
  
As he rounded the last corner, his step faltered a bit when he saw a couple sitting right at the bottom of the library door, necking for England. As he hesitated, not sure whether to interrupt or not, he recognised Remus, and with a devilish grin silently stepped closer, wanting to see which lucky lady Moony had picked up. As the couple parted and Remus moved his head away, Sirius gave a very audible gasp, which alerted them to his presence. Without delay he turned on his heel and went straight back to the common room, completely forgetting about the library.  
  
He, James, Peter and the girls were the only ones who had been up when he'd left, and when he got back, they had all gone to bed, leaving a clear common room. Sirius paced for a bit, dwelling on what he had just seen and wondering what to think about it. After a few minutes the portrait hole opened and Remus entered, looking worried.  
  
He stood where he was by the door and waited for Sirius to say something. Sirius, waiting for Remus to say something, decided he would break the silence and asked, "Where is she?"  
  
"She went to the library," Remus said apologetically. "Sirius, I..."  
  
Sirius interrupted. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Moony? What will James think when he finds out you've been fooling about with the love of his life?"  
  
"No, it's not like that." Remus sighed and closed his eyes briefly before looking up with a pained expression and saying, "Sirius, I – I think I love Lily." 


	16. Asking Lily

Chapter Sixteen: Asking Lily  
  
Sirius took a second to register the words, then opened his mouth, closed it and finally said, "No. No, James loves Lily."  
  
"I do, too," Remus said patiently.  
  
"You love Lily?" Sirius repeated weakly, almost to confirm it to himself, and then louder, and more fiercely, "You love Lily?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"No, no, no, this is wrong. You can't both love her, that's mad." Sirius couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it. "Everyone knows James loves her, even Lily knows."  
  
"Well maybe everyone was concentrating so much on James that they didn't notice me!" Remus shouted. "Of course they know he loves her, he yells about it every day. Just because he's more popular does it mean I don't have the right to love her?"  
  
Sirius stared, mouth open, still trying to digest it. He shook his head slightly and said, "I'm sorry, Moony, it was just such a shock." Then he asked the inevitable. "Does she love you?"  
  
Remus sank into a chair and stared into the fire. "I don't know." He tried to collect his thoughts before articulating them. "But she can't have much of an aversion to me, you saw us just now." He looked up at Sirius. "I didn't force myself on her, you know."  
  
Sirius, still standing, saw the misery on his friend's face and kept quiet. He felt torn apart by horses. James, his best friend, could potentially have his heart broken once and for all – surely he should warn him; yet here was his other best friend, utterly depressed at a time when he should feel elated.  
  
"Sirius, what should I do?" Remus asked quietly. He looked up from the fire, his eyes defeated, yet hopeful that Sirius would have the answer.  
  
Sirius felt bewildered. People didn't ask him for advice; it just wasn't something that happened. "I don't know. But let's not tell James, yet."  
  
The two of them fell asleep in their chairs by the fire that night, after chatting for a long time about Bethan and her new beau (Sirius used the word with contempt), and the upcoming Christmas Ball, which was to take place at the end of the week, the evening before most of the students would leave for the holidays. They had decided that Sirius would ask Lily to go with him, to avoid friction between Remus and James.  
  
"I may as well go with Lily, seeing as I can't ask Bethan," Sirius said moodily.  
  
"Oh, quit your whining," Remus replied, "It's getting old. You're lucky to go with Lily."  
  
"Yeah yeah, you would say that." Sirius shifted restlessly in his armchair. "What's so great about that big hunk of muscle, anyway?"  
  
"I think – what you just said," Remus answered. "He's a big hunk of muscle." He gave his friend a swift glance. "You scared of him, Padfoot?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"You should be. He almost flattened you in that match, imagine what he could do to you with his bare hands."  
  
Sirius looked annoyed, but recognising the truth in Remus' words, admitted, "I don't like to."  
  
The next morning Remus was woken by people coming down the stairs getting ready, collecting stray books and heading out the portrait hole for breakfast. He shook Sirius to consciousness and asked quietly, "You gonna ask Lily today?"  
  
Sirius stared up through bleary, half-shut eyes. "Ask her what?"  
  
"To the ball?" Remus reminded him.  
  
"Don't you want to ask her? Or James might want to..."  
  
Remus tutted impatiently. "No – we talked about it last night, Sirius! You were going to ask her, so that neither of us could."  
  
"Oh, right, right," Sirius remembered. "Gotcha." He gave Remus a grin and closed his eyes again.  
  
Remus shook him again. Sirius batted his hands away, muttering, "Hey, hey! No touchy!"  
  
Remus hit him over the head, waking him up properly. Before he could protest, Remus said, "She's coming now! Get in before James does!"  
  
Sighing, Sirius rose and stretched, before going to meet Lily on the stairs. Remus, not wanting to stay to witness him practising his charms on the girl he liked, saw James coming down the other stairs, and recognised a welcome escape in getting him down to the Great Hall for breakfast without seeing Sirius and Lily together.  
  
Sirius joined the others about five minutes later at the Gryffindor table and discreetly gave Remus the thumbs up, to let him know the plan their plan had taken effect. Remus smiled weakly; he was relieved and disappointed: there would be no beef between he and James, but Lily obviously didn't have a fierce longing for them to go together. He returned his attentions to his breakfast, only looking up when the girls entered, Adriana accompanied by Peter. Sirius carefully turned his eyes away when Bethan said good morning to Marley Branson at the Ravenclaw table next to theirs.  
  
The last day of term arrived at last. The lessons the Gryffindors had that day were Transfiguration, Charms and Astronomy; all were double periods, much to their dismay.  
  
"No one should have to deal with an angry McGonagall first thing in the morning," James said as they walked to her lesson.  
  
"If you had your way then we wouldn't have to deal with any lesson in the morning," Sirius replied. "And what makes you think McGonagall will be angry, anyway?"  
  
James gave him a withering look. "She's always angry." Looking ahead of them through the dispelling crowd, he saw Lily waiting outside the Transfiguration classroom with the other girls. "Wish me luck, Padfoot!" he said, preparing to dash off.  
  
"For what?" Sirius asked, alarmed, grabbing James' bag strap.  
  
"I'm asking Lily to the ball tonight!" James said impatiently, trying to free himself.  
  
"Er, James, listen to the little voice," Sirius warned him. "What do you think she'll say? You're not exactly her favourite person at the moment, and don't you think it's a bit late – someone's probably already asked her."  
  
"Fine, I'll wish myself luck," James said, having apparently ignored his friend's advice, and ran down the corridor.  
  
Sirius held his hand out, where he had been holding onto James. "James... the little voice..." he said desperately. "Shit," he muttered, as Remus appeared next to him.  
  
"What's up?" he asked, seeing Sirius' worried expression.  
  
"James has just gone to ask Lily to the ball."  
  
"But you asked her."  
  
"I know." Sirius bit his lip. He hadn't really thought this far when they'd discussed it last night. Now his best friend would be seriously upset. But he'd rather have that than his two best friends fighting, he decided, squaring his shoulders as he saw James return, his face livid.  
  
"Sirius, I'm sorry," Remus said quickly, as he saw James' expression, too.  
  
"Don't worry about it."  
  
"It seems someone has already asked her," James said as he reached them, brown eyes blazing. "You were right, Sirius – funny that. Oh, actually it's not, seeing as you were the one who asked her."  
  
"Prongs, look," Sirius smiled, trying to dispel the anger, but this didn't work so well on James as it did on the girls. "I can explain. I only asked her because I knew she probably wouldn't say yes to you, and I didn't want you to be upset when she went with someone else."  
  
James was still frowning, the angry glare of someone unused to defeat. "And you didn't think I'd be upset about my best friend taking her?" he asked, arms folded across his chest.  
  
"I don't fancy her or anything, James," Sirius assured him earnestly, while Remus shifted uncomfortably beside him. "And I know it's not the perfect arrangement, but at least now you don't have to worry about some clown treating her badly."  
  
James' expression cleared a little. He lowered his arms. "Fine," he muttered, unwilling to admit that Sirius was right. "Come on, then, or McGonagall really will be angry."  
  
As he swept away again, Sirius loitered behind, saying to Remus under his breath, "Listen, I explained to Lily about our plan, and she thought it was good. She would rather have gone with you than with Prongs, mate." He slapped Remus on the shoulder as they entered the room, to an icy stare and "You're late", from Professor McGonagall. Remus grinned to himself nonetheless. 


	17. The End of Term and Party Preparations

I'm sorry in advance: I haven't updated for a while, and this is a very poor chapter :( But, read it if you will, and I'll update again anyway... By the way, did anyone notice the Princess Bride reference in the chapter 15? Hehe, what a great film!

Chapter Seventeen – The End of Term and Party Preparations

The lessons on that last day took a lifetime to pass. All the students were much more interested in the ball that evening, and the holidays after that; they did not want to know about the homework that the teachers had in store for them. Nevertheless, the sixth year was important to their NEWTs, and they knew their responsibilities.

Professor McGonagall gave them an epic amount of research to complete for next term's topic, on top of a four-foot long essay. Professor Swift respected the holiday spirit only a bit more, when he set them an equally long essay, but no research. Sirius was not pleased about this, after the effort he had put into the last one, but he gave in his finished work with pride.

Astronomy was their last class of the day, and, as it was Friday, the week. It was always a pleasant end to the week, as Professor Harlem was by no means a hard taskmaster, and he was generally as fed up as the students on a Friday afternoon. On this lesson, he set them an end-of-term test, quizzing them on all the different planets they'd studied that term. They were allowed to work in pairs, so really the class spent the whole time chatting about the upcoming ball, and occasionally jotting down an answer when they saw Harlem coming their way.

James and Sirius were working together on their test. Sirius, whose favourite subject was Astronomy, knew all the answers and had it finished in ten minutes, so they were free to do as they wished from then on.

"Listen, Padfoot," James started, looking uneasy, "Sorry about before, with Lily. I got a bit narky cause I like her so much and I really wanted to go with her."

Sirius felt guilty then, and hoped Remus couldn't hear the conversation.

James carried on. "But I realised you were probably right, as always – she wouldn't have gone with me, and now you can look after her."

Sirius laughed, thinking she didn't really need looking after. "You're not annoyed, then?" he asked.

"No. I'll see her there anyway, and you'll be miserable about Bethan." James grinned, and Sirius returned it, glad to know their friendship was in tact.

"So the Gryffindor anarchists have made it up." Professor Harlem appeared next to James; he appeared to be checking their answers.

"What do you mean?" James asked in surprise. He hadn't even realised the teacher was there. "How did you know we had an argument?"

"These blue eyes," Harlem answered lazily, not looking up, "They see everything, Potter. And they notice frostiness between friends." Sirius and James looked at each other, their eyebrows raised.

"Excuse me." Harlem got out his wand and conjured a bottle of red wine and a glass. With a tilt of his wand, he poured a perfect glass without even touching the bottle. It was an occurrence the students were used to now.

"I'm not really supposed to drink red wine, you know," Harlem told them musingly, between sips. "For some reason, it makes me go to sleep."

Sirius smirked to himself, remembering when he had found Harlem fast asleep at the bottom of the tower.

"Your head really is up in the clouds, isn't it?" Harlem commented, observing Sirius' quietly smiling face over the rim of his glass. "And I'm glad to see a fellow dreamer. You answered all the questions right, by the way," he said, getting up and draining his glass.

"Nice one, Padfoot!" James laughed, going for a high-five.

"And now I think I'll rescue Lupin from Mr and Mrs Slob-a-lot," Harlem announced, pouring another glass and making his way past Sirius' desk.

Looking over, they saw Peter and Adriana snogging each other's faces off, while Remus kept his eyes carefully averted.

At the end of the lesson, Professor Harlem returned to the front of the class and said, "Before you go, I want to tell you what we're doing next year. Probably not a lot, I expect, but there is an eclipse of the Sun taking place in June, which I am quite looking forward to, and which I am going to force you all to watch. It will be good for your studies," he added, blue eyes glinting, before saying, "Okay, off you go, and have fun at the ball."

The class started packing up, all smiles and excitement about the end of term finally being upon them. Until, that is, Harlem spoke up again.

"Oh, how could I forget? Homework." Looking around at their exhausted and crestfallen faces, the smallest of smiles played around his lips as he shrugged and gave in, saying, "Fuck it – your homework is to have a good holiday, but please, take a moment to cast your gaze at the skies a few times, and don't forget what you've learnt this term, or I'll be seriously anxious."

The Marauders were not fans of dress robes, and James, Sirius and Remus had no intention of wearing them to the ball. So, during the last Hogsmeade visit, the three of them had gone to a clothes-hire store to reserve some sharp-looking suits for the occasion. Peter had on that particular trip, had chosen to spend it with Adriana, so hadn't got a suit; he would have to make do with dress robes. Two hours before the ball was to begin, lessons were over and everyone was lounging in the common room, celebrating the start of the holidays. As the girls were going up to start getting ready for the evening, a loud tapping sounded on the windows, startling them as they went up the stairs. James dashed across the room to open the window, and in flew three large owls, each carrying big packages.

"They're addressed to us," James told Sirius and Remus when he'd checked the labels attached to the owls' legs. "Must be our suits!"

"About bloody time, too," Sirius grumbled, unwrapping the package with his name on. They'd had Quidditch practice earlier in the afternoon, along with the Ravenclaws, and seeing Bethan avidly watching Marley zoom about in a tight white t-shirt which showed off his six-pack had put Sirius into a bad mood. His face brightened, however, when he took out his chosen suit, and inspected it again.

"Ah, brilliant!" he grinned, holding it out in front of him to admire. It was plain black with slightly flared trousers, with a white shirt and black tie. What Sirius liked best, though, was the hat that had come with it; a black trilby. "Ah, man!" he said, putting it on now and pulling it jauntily over one eye.

"That's one mega hat," James commented, smoothing the material of his own suit, which was pure white. This was a typically hazardous colour, but as it looked spectacular on his lean figure.

Remus also had a hat, similar to Sirius' but brown with a ribbon around it. The suit itself was also brown, striped with different shades, with a white shirt and dark trousers. Together the ensemble looked great, and when the three of them came down from their room after changing, they were the picture of sophistication, attracting admiring glances from all girls within eyesight.

"I wish I had a hat," James said ruefully, looking at his friends'. "Can I try yours, Padfoot?"

"Um – no!" Sirius exclaimed, clutching a protective hand to his head as Peter came in and cast jealous eyes on his fellow Marauders.

"I wish I had a suit," he whined, going up the stairs to change into his dress robes, which, incidentally, made him look even shorter and chubbier than usual, and blatantly highlighted how unattractive he was compared to his friends.

"You should spend so much time with gorgeous women, Wormtail," Sirius told his retreating back.

"You can talk," Remus said, as he adjusted his shirt under his jacket. They sat on their normal settee with their feet up, sipping Butterbeer and attracting more admiring looks for an hour before the girls emerged.

Bethan was going with Marley, of course, Lily with Sirius and Adriana with Peter. James had asked Sarah, who was delighted to go with the most popular boy in the year, and Sirius had hooked Remus up successfully with one of his girlfriends from Lily's party. She was called Emily, and was blonde and full of life.

The girls couldn't help laughing when they saw the guys, trying to look suave in their new suits; this disappointed the Marauders slightly, but they didn't mind as their dates looked so fantastic in their dress robes, which looked more like ball gowns. Remus and James both thought Lily looked beautiful, but it was Sirius who got to bend and kiss her hand, sweeping off his hat and bowing.

She giggled. "You look like the Hogwarts Mafia or something," she told him.

"Keep your mouth shut, or I'll send the boys after you," Sirius warned, his brown eyes twinkling. He was thoroughly enjoying his new gangster role. "Wait, it gets better," he said, and whipped out a pair of wrap-around shades from his breast pocket. They completed the image perfectly, and Lily applauded.

"Looks like it's about time," Remus announced, smiling at Emily as he took her arm, and leading the group from the common room down to the Entrance Hall, which was now packed with dressed-up students.

A/N: Again, sorry for this pitiful chapter, but I think the image of the Marauders in their suits brings it up a bit!


	18. The Christmas Ball, Marauder style

Chapter Eighteen: The Christmas Ball, Marauder style

It was a literally magical evening. The Great Hall had been decked with holly laden with red berries, and a huge, glittering Christmas tree took up each corner of the vast room. Enchanted snow fell from the ceiling, disappearing before it reached the floor, and the ceiling itself showed a clear dark sky dotted with stars. The five long tables had vanished, making room for lots of smaller, circular tables, which seated ten. This was convenient for the Marauders and their friends, as there were eight in the group, plus Remus' date Emily, and Marley Branson, whom Sirius took care to sit far away from.

When the meal was over, the tables were moved to the walls by a sweep of Professor Dumbledore's wand, and the floor was clear for dancing. The music and dancing went on for hours, and both Remus and James managed to get a turn with Lily. It was an achievement for either of them to tear her away from Sirius, who threatened to send them to "the boys", only half-jokingly. Everyone avoided Peter and Adriana, preferring to leave the couple to their own devices on the dance floor. Marley Branson was very protective of Bethan, but she was able to spend some time with her friends whilst he was messing around with his own pals from Ravenclaw.

Towards the end of the evening, Sirius and Lily came off the dance floor, exhausted after a very upbeat song. James, sitting at their table, jumped up and grabbed her hands.

"No, James, can't you see how tired I am?" she laughed, pulling her hands away and sweeping her hair off her shining face.

"Oh, come on, it's Christmas!" he protested, and succeeded in dragging her onto the floor again.

Sirius collapsed next to Bethan, who was laughing as she watched Marley dance energetically with his fellow seventh years. He sighed, seeing how happy she was, and took a sip of James' pumpkin juice. This party needs real drink, he thought, as he watched Bethan watching her boyfriend.

Feeling his eyes on her, she looked round, a smile on her face. "You alright, Sirius?" she asked.

"Yeah, just tired," he answered, and took another gulp of juice. Ask her, just ask. "Do you want to dance?"

"I thought you were tired?"

"I'm sure I can muster up some energy for my favourite girl," he grinned, taking her wrist as they stood.

Just then Marley came over, having spotted someone else talking to Bethan. He glared at Sirius, daring him to try anything with him around. He turned to Bethan, who, adjusting her dark hair, had missed the angry glares.

"Wanna spin?" he asked, his hands on her waist.

"Hell yeah," she giggled, forgetting Sirius as they joined the dancing crowd.

Sirius sank back down, took his gangster hat off and loosened his tie. James and Lily came off the floor, and Remus, whose date was dancing with her friends, quickly snapped up Lily again. James sat next to Sirius, noticing his friend's glum face.

"What's up, Padfoot?"

"That Branson guy," he answered bitterly. "I was just about to dance with Bethan and he snatched her off me." He glared out at the couple; they were laughing as they spun around.

"Well, she is his girlfriend," James said reasonably, reaching for his drink.

"I wasn't gonna marry her or anything," Sirius grumbled. "He's obviously intimidated by me, if he feels the need to drag her away after I've been talking to her for a second."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," James grinned, then looked in his goblet, puzzled. "Padfoot, have you been stealing my pumpkin juice?"

The song stopped and a much slower one started up. The various couples slowed down with it, wrapping their arms around each other. Sirius, still watching Bethan, tore his eyes away and noticed Remus and Lily, practically moulded into one being. He worriedly glanced at James, who hadn't seen them.

"Oh – yeah, sorry, Prongs," he said quickly. "What d'you say we get some real drink, anyway; I think this party's just about finished."

"That sounds good," James agreed. The two friends ambled from the hall amid the loud music and revelry, still looking cool in their suits and attracting many a female glance. Up in the common room, Sirius dragged his trunk from under his bed and searched through it.

"I have a Christmas present for you, Prongs," he said. "I thought I'd give it to you early, as this seems the opportune moment to use it." He pulled out a huge bottle of Firewhiskey, and James' face lit up.

"Wow, Sirius, you legend, that's amazing!" he declared, inspecting the bottle.

"I'm glad you think so," Sirius smiled as he replaced his trunk and took out his broom. "Now, I think we should take it for a little midnight Quidditch practice, what d'you say?"

"That sounds like the most brilliant plan I've heard in a long time." James got out his own Silver Arrow, and they went down together to the Entrance Hall. The ball was still going on inside the Great Hall, and for once no one noticed the two Marauders, one in white and one in black, as they slipped out into the gloom.

They didn't play much Quidditch as it turned out, but sat in the stands taking swigs from the whisky bottle and talking about Bethan and Lily. Sirius was tempted at one point to tell James about Remus and Lily, so that they could both be miserable, but he persuaded himself not to, and blamed it on the drink.

James was ranting about Bethan. "I don't know why she's going out with that meatball over you, Padfoot," he slurred, "Sure, most of the girls seem to lust over him, but I would've thought she'd have more loyalty than that."

Sirius listened, frowning. "Loyalty?" he asked.

"Yes, loyalty!" James swung the bottle in his hand. Sirius grabbed it before any spilled. "That's what it's about – loyalty! That Branston – I mean Branson, I mean - nearly murdered you out here, and she jumps at the chance to get off with him. That's why she's not a Marauder. Marauders are loyal, Padfoot."

A while later the bottle was nearly empty and they had got shakily onto their brooms and were zooming slowly around the pitch, shouting and laughing and daring each other to go faster, or do loop-the-loops. James carried the whisky with him, and whenever they passed each other Sirius would try desperately to snatch it off him. He failed every time and almost fell off his broom more often than not, to James' intense amusement.

"I don't know why you're – hic – laughing, mate," Sirius called as he whooshed unsteadily away towards the goalposts. "You could be my falldown. If I plummeted to my untimely death it would your fault, and no one would forgive you."

"You would die an alcoholic," James declared, taking a huge gulp and waving the bottle out to Sirius, tantalizingly out of reach.

Sirius sailed back round, making another ill-advised grab for the whisky and turning right over in the air. "Oh, why do you mock me?" he wailed in despair, his long hair standing on end as he hung upside down, knuckles white from gripping tightly to the broom. Feeling sick with the blood and alcohol rushing to his head, he gave an almighty tug with his arms and swung himself back upright, and slowly drifted to the ground, where he collapsed on the wet grass, white and hard from the snow.

Looking up, he saw James far above him, juggling the bottle from one hand to the other. He's so gonna drop that, Sirius thought to himself, and sure enough, it fell from his grip and plummeted to earth. James, an expression of terror on his face, sped after it and caught it just before it smashed to the ground. He landed easily next to Sirius and finally handed the drink to him, boasting, "That's why I'm the greatest seeker Gryffindor has known."

Sirius ignored him and drained the last dregs, leaning back until he was lying on the snow-covered grass. "Whishky'sh finished," he slurred, and fell asleep. James picked up the bottle, turning it upside down and shaking it to check nothing was left.

Sirius opened his eyes groggily and looked around, carefully turning his head for minimal movement. He was still on the ground in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, which had soaked his white rented shirt, resulting in him feeling chilled to the bone. He rose slowly, and was surprised and pleased by the lack of dizziness and agony. James was nowhere to be seen, but Sirius' eyes were drawn to magical words traced in the air by wand, reading, "Gone to get more whisky, Prongs".

Sirius went to the stands where he'd left his black jacket and hat. The jacket was cold but he snuggled into it gratefully, trying to create some warmth by rubbing his arms. He put the hat on, out of pure love for the garment, and meandered back to the castle to see what had become of James. On the way he saw a solitary figure sitting by the lake, and, forgetting James, went to investigate. 


	19. It's cold out here by the lake

This is a bit of a long, conversation-based chapter, but I like Sirius, and you must too, so enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen: It's cold out here by the lake

Lily sat at the side of the lake, staring into its black depths and thinking about Remus, and James, and how she should probably get up soon before she was frozen to the spot. Like James and Sirius, she had grown tired of the jollity of the ball, and come out here for some peace and thinking space. She shivered; the night air was biting and she was only wearing her dress robes.She blinked and jumped in alarm as a handful of flowers appeared before her eyes, closely followed by the grinning face of Sirius Black. He was wearing his hat still, and he swayed slightly, making her wonder what he had been doing out here.She smiled back weakly and said, "You scared me.""You're not the only one," he replied. "Sometimes I'm so hot I scare myself.""What're the flowers for?" she asked, squinting up at him."I just liked them, that's all," Sirius said musingly, inspecting the delicate white petals. "They're winter daisies. They're for you. I thought some daisies might cheer you up." He held them out to her again.Lily took them. "Thank you," she said quietly, twirling them in her fingers as she went back to staring at the lake's dark waters.Sirius frowned down at her. "Well, obviously I was wrong," he said. "Personally, I would be very pleased if someone gave me a lovely bunch of winter daisies... but they're not for everyone. I guess I'm just a softie."Lily looked back up at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sirius. I was just thinking about things."He sat down in the snow next to her. "I know," he said softly, dropping the comedy act. "What are you thinking? You can tell Uncle Padfoot."Lily was quiet for a moment. "Well, you know about me and Remus." Sirius nodded and waited for her to continue. "He's a great guy, as you know, and I really like him, but I feel like what happened was a mistake." She looked to see his reaction and whether he would say anything. When he didn't she carried on, trying to find the words to express herself. "And recently, I've been looking at James and" – she gave a self-deprecating laugh – "I know I said I would never go out with him, and I know you're his best friend so you'll go and tell him this straight away, but I've definitely been seeing him differently, and my feelings are changing, though I hate to admit it."Up until now Lily had been looking out across the lake to the trees beyond while she spoke, carefully avoiding Sirius' gaze. Now she finally turned to him, and his brown eyes were warm and understanding as he nodded, smiling. He was relieved that Lily had at last realised her true feelings, which he had found obvious for a long time.However, there was one problem, and his expression grew more serious as he said, "So you've accepted that you and James are meant for each other... What about Remus?"The embarrassed smile fell from Lily's face and she hid her head in her arms. "Oh, I don't know!" she wailed. "I don't want to hurt him, he's too lovely to be hurt! But the way I feel about James, I don't know how I've only just seen it... and I can't let that pass." She looked up at him again, anxiously waiting for his opinion."I think you worry too much about other people," Sirius told her. "I mean, sure, Moony will be upset – but it won't be forever. And like you said, you have to be, to use a silly phrase, true to yourself.""I like your thinking," Lily smiled, "It means I can do what I like.""Well, yeah," he agreed, "you can't live your life wondering whether other people will be overly affected by what you do.""That's obviously the philosophy you and James stick by," Lily said, grinning again."Why else would I say it?" he asked, spreading his hands. He could see that, although she seemed to have cheered up, there was still doubt and worry behind her eyes. "And Remus will be okay," he tried once again to reassure her, and decided to return to his traditional role of comedian, saying with a cheeky grin, "Don't flatter yourself too much, Lily, it's not like you're impossible to get over or something.""I know," she said, accepting his jibe with submission. "It'll just be hard, seeing him sad and knowing it's my fault.""If it'll make you feel better," Sirius said, his eyes twinkling, "I'll keep him company and we can be miserable together.""Why would you be miserable?" she asked, a slight frown creasing her forehead as she thought. "You don't fancy Adriana any more.""No, I don't," he agreed mysteriously, and left it there, unwilling to go into the whole painful Bethan scenario again. "You know what, Lily darling?" he asked after a while of sitting quietly."What, Sirius dear?""My arse is fucking freezing." She laughed loudly in surprise at this unexpected revelation, and he grinned appreciatively."Maybe we should be going, then," Lily suggested, starting to get up. "Let's go back to the common room, or people might miss us and get suspicious.""No, I can't get up," Sirius moaned, looking imploringly up to where she stood above him. "I'm frozen to this spot, I can't move.""Oh come on, stop larking about, I'm cold," she laughed, reaching down to tug on his arm. He didn't budge, remaining fixed to the ground, and his face remaining serious beneath the hat."I'm telling you, I can't move. You go, save yourself, and I'll stay here, immortalised forever as a particularly handsome ice statue wearing a knock- out suit."Lily pulled harder on his arm, making him rock from side to side. "Ooh, you're helping, pull harder girl, that's good." He cackled naughtily as she hit him over the head, and then finally collapsed onto the ground. Lily fell down, too, as she had been holding onto him so tightly."Hello, love." Their faces were close as they lay beside each other in the snow.Lily clambered to her feet again. "Alright, get up. Things are complicated enough with James and Remus. I am not entering you into the equation.""What makes you think I would want to be involved in your equation of lurve?" Sirius asked from where he still lay splayed on the ground."Oh, please." Lily nudged him with her foot, and he rolled over and stood up.As they meandered their way back to the castle, stamping great footprints in the crunchy snow, Lily linked her arm through Sirius' in an effort to keep a bit warmer."Do you want my jacket?" he asked, his teeth chattering and his wet hair starting to freeze into icicles."No, you keep it," she replied, her own teeth chattering to rival his."Good, I think I would die without it."After a few more yards, he heard her sigh and saw her breath in the cold air, and suspected she was wallowing again. Without any prompting from him, she said, "I feel so bad about Remus.""You should, you're about to break his heart." He looked at her and saw the anguished expression, and said quickly, "That was a joke.""Well, it wasn't funny." She elbowed him lightly and added, "It was true.""No it wasn't, I keep telling you; you have to live your own life. Moony will be over you in no time.""Hey!" she elbowed him harder."No offence. But it'll be okay. You know how fickle werewolves are – their hearts change with every full moon. He'll move on." He glanced down at her before adding, "I did."Her snapped round. "What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously."I fancied you once," he said lightly, with no hint of embarrassment."Shut up! No you didn't!" Lily cried; indeed, she seemed more mortified that he did."Don't tell me whom I have and have not fancied," he said sternly, and carried on, using tragic tones to make the situation humorous, "It was in the fourth year, when we first started to really get to know each other. Of course, James had loved you since the first year, so I didn't tell him, and I had to work through that difficult time by myself.""Oh, you poor dear," she said flippantly."I know. So you see," he continued, over-dramatically, "Remus will be better off than I was, because he'll have a friend to help him.""And a brilliant friend at that," Lily told him, giving his arm a squeeze. Sirius smiled self-consciously and made no answer."No, you really are a great friend," she said, green eyes wide with sincerity, "even to a pathetically self-obsessed girl like me. Thank you for this lovely chat.""You're welcome," he replied, as they reached the castle doors, and basked in the sudden warmth of the school.The Great Hall was empty now, and the teachers were clearing up with their wands. None of them noticed Sirius and Lily come in out of the cold, and the two students made their way up to the Gryffindor Tower.When they were standing in front of the Fat Lady, waiting for her to wake up, Sirius asked Lily, "What are you going to do now, then?""Well, I'll have to tell Remus that it can't happen," she said miserably, pulling a face at the prospect of breaking his heart. "And then I suppose I'll swell James' enormous head even further by admitting he was right all along."Sirius winced at the thought of James with an even bigger head, and then wondered where he had got to, after supposedly going for more alcohol. 


	20. What happened in the Christmas holidays

Thanks for the brilliant reviews, they make it so much more worthwhile! Here's the next chapter...

Chapter Twenty: What Happened in the Christmas Holidays

Two days into the Christmas holiday, Sirius came down the steps to the common room, stretching and yawning. Looking around, he saw it was totally empty, and remembered it was now the holidays; practically everyone had gone. The few staying included himself, James and Remus from the sixth year, and a selected handful from the other years.He sprawled himself in a chair before the fire, looked around again and jumped in surprise. Remus was sitting next to him, silently staring. Sirius hadn't seen him before, because the back of his chair was so high."What's up, Moony?" he asked carefully. "You look a bit... broody."Remus looked round at him. His eyes were glazed, with dark circles under them; his skin was pale. "Well, that would be because Lily's decided she prefers James to me." His tone was light, even jokey, but there was an almost imperceptible hint of menace underneath which Sirius didn't like the sound of. "I suppose I can't blame her," he went on, eyes boring into Sirius'. "I mean, who'd want a pathetic werewolf, a monster, when she can have the captain of the Quidditch team, the handsome, popular James Potter?"Sirius looked away from the eyes; he was completely unsure of what to do or say, and taken by surprise. He shifted uneasily, and tried to smile, appearing friendly. "Hey, Remus," he said, "I just got up, man, I'm kind of confused, don't know what, um... what did she say?""She said that we were a mistake, that she was sorry, that she realised she loved James, and that she'd see me after the holiday."Shit. I don't really want this hanging over my holiday, Sirius thought, then felt guilty. Lily really had taken his advice to heart, shattering Remus' heart and his friendship with James, and then flitting off home for a lovely, carefree break. After thinking over this new situation, he turned back to Remus, who didn't seem to mind that he'd had no answer or comfort.Sirius opened his mouth, and tried to think of something intelligent or useful, or perhaps both, to say. Just when he gave up, James came bounding in through the portrait hole, all smiles and energy."Padfoot!" he cried, running over to shake Sirius' hand. "You've woken up! We thought we'd lost you, didn't we Moony?"Remus grunted, not looking up."Why, what happened?" Sirius asked, removing his bewildered hand from James' grasp."You were asleep all of yesterday – it's Sunday, mate!" he laughed. "I nearly woke you up I was so excited, but Moony told me not to, you'd be cranky and kill me.""Why were you excited?" Sirius asked slowly."Lily!" he shouted out to the otherwise empty common room. "Before she left, she came up to me, saying 'see you next year, have a good holiday' and all that, and" – he looked about to burst – "she kissed me!""What?!" Sirius asked, trying to sound excited and pleased for him, yet at the same time being all too aware of Remus' prone form beside him."She kissed me, right there!" James said, pointing a quivering finger at his cheek. "Didn't I tell you – didn't I tell you she loved me?" he pushed his face right up close to Sirius', still pointing to his own. "Didn't she kiss me, Moony?" he turned to Remus now, apparently still not noticing the atmosphere."You know what?" Remus put his hands on the arms of his chair, propelling himself up. "I think I'll start on the homework early this year. See you guys later." He walked quickly out of the common room.James took his place. "What's with him?" he asked."Oh, just... werewolf blues, I think," Sirius answered lightly. Obviously neither Lily nor Remus had told James the full story, and he didn't feel he should, if they hadn't. "So I slept for a full day?" he asked, grinning and eager to change the subject."More than that, if you've just got up now," James said. "But you seem to have escaped a hangover from our... late-night Quidditch."Sirius smiled gently at the dim memory he had of it. "Yeah," he said, "But I missed everyone going home. I wanted to say bye to Bethan.""Branson wouldn't have let you near her, Padfoot," James answered, causing Sirius to scowl. "I tell you, that guy doesn't even need a bat to hit those Bludgers, he could do it with his bare hands."The holidays passed in the same vein, Remus being depressed, James being excited and Sirius trying to act as both would need him. To avoid confrontation before Lily returned, Sirius tried to keep them apart, and actually spent a lot of time with Remus in the library, doing homework, much to James' dismay. He wanted to have fun all the time, and do lots of pranks, but, as Sirius pointed out, there was no one there to play them on. They kept busy annoying Filch, though.Sirius felt quite strained during those two or three weeks, and not Christmassy at all. He didn't like to see Remus like this, so quiet. He was used to him being quiet, but in a calm way, not a depressed, heartbroken way. To make matters worse, James was exchanging a lot of owl post with Lily, and he insisted on sharing his excitement and sometimes reading the 'best bits' out to his two best friends. It seemed to Sirius that now Lily had realised her feelings, she didn't want to waste any time being awkward or embarrassed. He felt desperately sorry for Remus, who threw himself into his schoolwork, spending hours on perfecting each essay. Sirius hadn't forgotten those first bitter words: "Why would she want a werewolf, a monster?"Gradually, as the holiday went on, things got slightly back to normal, when Remus picked himself up a bit and joined in with their joking and pranks. After all, he thought, these two are my best friends, they don't deserve to be poisoned with my black moods. Although James didn't seem to notice anything around him except the owls delivering the post any more.The last day of the holiday came, and the three Marauders were glad all their friends would be joining them again. The castle had been very quiet for three weeks; so quiet, in fact, that Sirius and Remus had felt put upon on several occasions to release huge fireworks within the school, sending them jumping and banging down the corridors. This worked very well to dispel the silence, but James always got annoyed that he wasn't involved. Remus told him he should come to the library with them more often, because that was where the silence and work drove to the edge. James winked and asked what a 'liberry' was, and did it taste nice. Remus didn't laugh.James forgot all about that, though, with the prospect of seeing Lily again, maybe as a girlfriend. In her letters she had not shied away from this possibility, and he had great hopes of them being the perfect Hogwarts couple. In the library, Sirius had seen Remus come out from his dejected shell, and return to almost his normal self, and he hoped that he was getting over her fast. And he said he loved her, Sirius thought with a smile. How over-dramatic Moony could sometimes be, beneath that cool exterior!On Sunday morning, the day before lessons began again, the three friends made their way down to the Entrance Hall to await their friends. James was uncharacteristically nervous, more than he had ever been before a Quidditch game, and kept checking his hair, ruffling it up to make it messy, even though Lily had made fun of him many times before for doing that. Sirius and Remus sat on the stone steps, playing rock-paper-scissors."You'd think with magic and stuff," mused Sirius, as he got scissors and Remus got rock, "That there'd be a more exciting game than this for us to play... But this one just beats 'em all, eh, Moony?""If you say so," Remus replied, boredly, as they counted 1-2-3 again. This time Sirius got paper and Remus got rock again."That's fourteen-eight to Padfoot!" Sirius crowed, wrapping Remus' fist with his palm. "You lose!"Remus shrugged. "Story of my life," he said unconcernedly. Sirius let his hand drop.Luckily at that point James, who had been pacing worriedly and ignoring them, turned to them and cried, "They're here! Can you see?" he pointed out the door at the approaching vast group of students, his face a mixture of excitement and panic.Remus and Sirius stood and dusted off their robes. "You ready, Moony?" Sirius asked in a low voice, as James practically jumped up and down with anxiety."Yeah," was all Remus said in reply. Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. "Bring 'em on."The sixth year girls were at the front of the group, as Lily had been so eager to get to James. She couldn't believe how long it had taken her stupid brain to fully appreciate James Potter; she was so ashamed that she told herself she had known all along, but pushed it to the back of her mind because he was so vile – in some ways. But in other ways he was completely perfect, she smiled happily.Suddenly, as they drew nearer to the castle, she saw a dark figure waiting at the open doors, and her face broke into a joyful grin."James!" she cried, running the rest of the way and up the stairs. Her friends laughed at the sight of her, black robes and red hair flying out behind her; they'd never seen her run so fast. Like Sirius, they had guessed her hidden feelings long before she had herself, and had had fun teasing her about it throughout the holidays.Lily threw herself up the last few steps and into James' arms, wrapping her legs around his middle and planting a huge kiss on his face. They fell over in a laughing heap at Sirius' feet. Sirius steered Remus away to greet the others, to give the couple some space."I'm so sorry I was such a bitch!" Lily said, when they came up for air."You were never a bitch, I was a bitch!" James replied, delirious with happiness."Yeah, that's true," she agreed as they got to their feet. Her smile faded only a little when she saw Remus, standing with his back to them, saying hello to the other Gryffindors. Taking a deep breath, she tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, a slow smile on his face."I'm sorry," was all she could think to say. "Are you okay?""Of course," he smiled still. "I'm stronger than I look." He wrapped her arms around her, bringing her close in a big hug. Lily smiled happily, and he whispered, "I knew you loved him anyway.""Remus, you slut!" she joked, hitting him on the shoulder. They broke apart and Lily joined James again. Sirius whooped and clapped as they kissed again in the Entrance Hall.

(Cheesy...)


	21. Suspicious Minds

Okay, I'm not too sure about this one... I seem to have lost my muse. I wanted to concentrate more on the 'action' rather than the relationships now - see what you think. As always, thanks for the reviews!

Chapter Twenty-One – Suspicious Minds

A month passed, and James and Lily were still going strong. The work was steadily building up for the sixth years, as they were now in the second half of the school year. Next year they faced their NEWTs. During the first week or so of their new relationship, James and Lily were constant smiles and adoration, always in each other's company. Their friends soon grew tired of it, but even more so when the bickering began in the second week. They were still hardly ever out of each other's eyesight, but now they spent their time arguing. It was very much a love-hate relationship.Sirius, happy at first for James, was getting disgruntled that he'd lost his best friend, in some ways. Being a prefect, Lily constantly urged her beau to be better behaved, and he felt obliged to, rather than anger her unnecessarily. However, this meant that Lily and Sirius were always pulling him in two different directions, and his rebellious tendencies were hard to break, to the Marauders' delight.The Quidditch season was going well for the Gryffindors, and James liked to think it was due to his own skills as Seeker and Captain. They'd won both the games they had played so far, and the next one would take place in two weeks' time, against Slytherin. They were determined to win this one, too, as last year they'd narrowly lost to the enemy house when James had been hit and knocked off course by a Bludger just before he caught the Snitch.James was discussing his team's chances of winning with Steven Brown in a corner, on a rare occasion when he was not with Lily. She was sitting with her friends at one of the tables, doing some homework. They were gossiping about Bethan's relationship with Marley, which seemed to be flourishing. This was another factor contributing to Sirius' usual dark moods.Lily let herself drift from the conversation and gazed across the room, absent-mindedly nibbling the tip of her quill as her eyes came to rest on James. She smiled, watching him wildly gesticulating in his ranting about Quidditch, while Steven tried to get a word in sometimes. After a minute she looked over at the next table and saw Remus helping a couple of first years with their Potions homework. Unconsciously she leant her head on her hand and watched him patiently going through each point over again until they understood it, never getting annoyed or short-tempered, or not showing it, anyway.She was startled out of the clouds by a quiet voice beside her asking, "Any regrets?"Lily looked around to see Sirius sitting next to her, his feet up on the table and a knowing look in his eye. She turned again to see James, demonstrating a star Seeker's moves to a now bored-looking Steven Brown. Her eyes turned back to Remus, unwearyingly explaining the properties of a Potion ingredient to his young pupils. She shook her head, smiling slightly. "No, I think me and Remus were too alike from the start.""Good, because I wouldn't tolerate you hurting both my best friends." Sirius treated her to a stern look, and she knew to take him seriously."I would never hurt James, Sirius," she said with a reassuring smile, and turned back to her homework. Sirius sat back, satisfied with this answer, hands behind his head and his bare feet still up on the table."Sirius, your feet are absolutely huge!" Bethan stopped chatting to gaze in wonder at the offending feet.Sirius fixed her with a piratical smile. All he needed to complete the picture was a cutlass between his teeth. "If you're impressed by size you'll be pleased to know it doesn't stop at my feet," he said lazily.Bethan was stuck for words then, and her face went pink from such suggestiveness from her old crush.Sirius grinned further at this reaction he'd got. "Oh, come on," he said, "Don't tell me your horrible, six-foot, tight t-shirt-wearing boyfriend isn't up to standard?"Bethan recovered quickly; the rosy cheeks turned from embarrassment to anger. "Quite the contrary," she answered in clipped tones as she turned her eyes back to her homework. "We were just talking about him, weren't we, Sarah?""Oh, yes," Sarah agreed. "You may have met your match, Mr Black!""Never!" Sirius was interrupted in his attempts to keep his reputation, by Peter clattering into the common room through the portrait, out of breath and his round face looking flushed."Where's Adriana?" he demanded, for some reason staring right at Sirius.Sirius blinked in surprise, looking at Peter over his shoulder. "How the hell should I know?" he asked. "Where's she supposed to be?""We were supposed to meet at the library half an hour ago!" Peter squeaked, looking at his watch. "But she never turned up – I thought you might have something to do with it."Whilst the girls wondered why on earth Adriana was going out with Peter over Sirius, James came to his friend's rescue. "Why don't you look for her on the Map, Wormtail?" he suggested, giving Steven Brown a break from the Quidditch rantings. He went up to the bedroom to get the Marauders' Map, as Peter sat down next to Lily.Something stirred in Sirius' mind. He sat forward slowly, fingers on his temples, trying to remember what it was... Adriana... the Map... He fell off his chair suddenly. The girls laughed at him sprawled on the floor, hair in his eyes, and Remus looked around from his first year buddies."She's with the Slytherins!" Sirius shouted, to the bemusement of the others. He jumped to his feet impatiently. "I saw her on the Map, months ago, meeting with Snape and Regulus and a few others – I was suspicious at the time, but I forgot about it."The others were just looking at him. "Yeah, and?" Peter prompted him."Well don't you think that's a little weird?" Sirius said anxiously. "She was meeting with those slimy evil gits – what the hell for?""What are you suggesting?" Peter asked, his face starting to look flushed again. At that moment James came down the stairs again, brandishing the Map."Sorry, it was at the bottom of my trunk," he grinned as he got his wand out to reveal the magical plan of the castle. "Let's see where your missus is, then..."The sound of the portrait hole opening again made them turn around, James' wand poised on the parchment, to see Adriana entering the room, looking as beautiful as usual. Peter rushed over to her."Angel, where were you?" he gushed disgustingly. Sirius put his face in his hands. "I thought you'd run into trouble or something.""No, of course not," she answered soothingly. "What I ran into was Professor Harlem, and you know how he likes to talk – he was very excited about this eclipse thing coming up in June, I couldn't get away." She took his hand and led him towards the stairs. "Come on, let's get some privacy."The other sixth years stared until the couple was out of sight. Sarah turned to the others. "Does anyone else just not understand that?" she asked. "I thought I'd get used to it, but they're such a weird couple.""Hmm, it is rather odd," Bethan agreed, going back to her work. "She must just like nothing guys. No offence," she added, glancing up at James."None taken, I completely agree," he said, putting the unused Map away. "I think that's the explanation Sirius has settled for, eh, Padfoot?"They turned to Sirius, who was still staring in disbelief at the stairs. "What a cock and bull story!" he said eventually, pointing a long finger up where Adriana had been. "She met Professor Harlem? Yeah, what were they doing together?" When the others looked shocked, he yielded in his views. "Okay, so Harlem wouldn't do that. But something's not right here... And I'm not jealous, I just... I think you were right all along, James." He looked up at James, his face unusually serious."No I wasn't, Padfoot." James looked slightly disturbed. "She's a nice girl, my first impression was wrong. Mate, just – get a grip."Sirius sunk in his seat, glowering with his arms folded as James walked away. Remus, having sent the younger students up to bed, successfully and without drama for a change, came over to join them."Sirius, you're worrying me," he said. "I like to trust your judgement, but this thing about Adriana seems a bit crazy. So she was talking to some Slytherins – it could have been about anything, they might not have been meeting at all, just a coincidence. Besides, she's a Gryffindor."Sirius leant forward and whispered in Remus' ear. "I don't trust her, she has no nasal hair!"Remus laughed, with some relief. "Yeah, okay, I knew you were just joking." He went over to sit with James by the fire. Sirius slumped further in his chair, thinking. No one believed him or understood his concern, but he was starting to seriously wonder whether Adriana had an agenda of her own. He had no idea what it could be, but if it involved the Slytherins it couldn't be good.He eyes the Marauders' Map lying on the table next to Lily's pile of books. Tapping it with his wand, he muttered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" and leant over it as the inky corridors appeared all over the parchment. His eyes dropped to the bottom, the Slytherin common room in the dungeons, and in one corner he saw four dots telling him, sure enough, that Regulus, Bellatrix, Snape and Malfoy were conferring.They could be talking about anything, he told himself reasonably, looking out the window at the dark sky and seeing the Dog Star. But they could be discussing their latest rendezvous with Adriana. Adriana – the Gryffindor spy? 


	22. Cold Water, Flying Sausages and Niggling...

As always, thanks for the great reviews and I hope you're still enjoying it! I'm writing more slowly now, cause I hit a bit of an... annoying spot, but never mind! It's all good! :)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Cold Water, Flying Sausages and Niggling Doubts

Sirius slept in the common room again that night. He didn't feel like going upstairs where Peter was, fraternising with the enemy, and so instead sat for hours by the ebbing fire, thinking in circles about what Adriana could be up to, and becoming quite obsessed with the mystery, though he wouldn't admit that. He didn't come up with anything new, and fell asleep in the early hours, long after everyone had gone up to bed.

In the morning, his fellow Marauders came down for breakfast to see him sprawled on the floor, having fallen off the sofa, still fast asleep. As usual, he wasn't woken by anything, including the dozens of people thundering down the stairs and around the common room.

"Oh God, shall we call in the undertaker?" Remus asked as he stood over Sirius' still body.

"No, let's do something more fun," James grinned wickedly as he conjured a bucket of water with his wand.

Lily came over to join them, and after kissing James good morning, looked curiously down at Sirius. "Did he sleep down here again?" she asked. Then she saw the bucket above his head. "No, James, you can't!"

"Can't I?" His wand tilted the bucket so it nearly spilled the freezing cold water. Lily grabbed his arm, trying to pull him away, but the pair cannoned into Remus and the bucket fell as though in slow motion, the water cascading down onto Sirius' head.

James, Lily and Remus stared at each other, aghast. Then: "RUN!" yelled Remus, grabbing his bag and belting for the portrait hole, James and Lily right on his heels. Behind them they heard the sounds of Sirius' rage as he charged around the common room with the bucket on his head.

* * *

Another month passed and things continued as normal. The work built up with rapidity, the Quidditch season was still doing well, James and Lily were going strong, as were Bethan and Marley and Peter and Adriana. As the remaining single Marauders, Sirius and Remus took it upon themselves to be principal troublemakers, meaning they were often tired, what with work and creeping around the castle at night under the Invisibility Cloak, looking for unsuspecting victims.

Sirius was still suspicious of Adriana, and tried to make Remus understand why. Whenever Peter was in the common room and Adriana wasn't, Sirius took note of it in his mind, assuming she would be with her Slytherin accomplices. He didn't voice his concerns too much, though, as no one seemed to share them, and after that sleepless night in the common room, which had ended with him getting soaked. He got his revenge on James by sending charmed sausages after him all day, unrelentingly hitting him on the back of the head until James retaliated in the middle of a Transfiguration lesson, by turning Sirius' hair back to the old pink, and then eating the sausages. Professor McGonagall was not very pleased with this interruption, and the two earned themselves detention.

The hefty workload and his duties as Marauder took priority for Sirius over his misgivings of Adriana, and as no one seemed to sympathise with his worries, and he still couldn't work out what she was up to, he tried to forget about them. Besides, James was much more keen on him doing extra Quidditch practise in all his spare time, as the final was a mere three months away. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had the highest scores, and it looked as if they would be the two teams in the final. This meant that Sirius would probably be facing Marley Branson head-to-head, which he was both pleased and slightly worried about. In a perfect world, he would be able to prove to Bethan who the best man really was, but the truth was that Marley was not overly fond of Sirius, and no one would like to get on the wrong side of those muscles.

An opportunity for Sirius to investigate further into the Adriana situation came along one day in April. Spring was in full bloom, the Hogwarts grounds bursting with huge, colourful flowers, which sent their sweet aromas into the castle. Inside, the rays of sunshine did not quite reach the sixth years' faces, as their became increasingly difficult to penetrate the workload on top of them. All of them felt it was unfair and slave-driverish to receive such amounts when the NEWTs were over a year away, but their only choice they available to them was whether to complain out loud or stay silent when working.

"I dread to think what it'll be like next year," Sirius said to James after a particularly gruelling Transfiguration lesson, at the end of which they'd been given the largest amount of homework yet. "I'm thinking about just going to sleep for the whole year, then making some educated guesswork in the exams."

James snorted. "You wouldn't have to try to sleep for a year, Padfoot, you probably would anyway. You're the king of kipperooning."

Later on, in the afternoon no-man's land between the end of classes and the beginning of the evening's homework, Sirius spotted Peter sitting alone by the window, getting started earlier than usual on a pile of work that seemed to stretch to the common room ceiling.

Leaving the fire, Sirius made his way over to Peter, saying sympathetically, "I almost didn't see you there, Wormtail," as he peered over the pile of books and parchment before sitting in an empty chair.

"I've let it all build up on me," Peter muttered, looking at a list of essays, research and reading he had to do. "That's the trouble with having a girlfriend, they take first priority. You'd know if you had one, Padfoot."

Sirius let this (probably) unintentional slur slide, as his ears pricked in a dog-like fashion at the mention of Adriana. "How is the lovely girl?" he asked casually, trying to keep he irony from his voice. "I don't see her around... Any idea what she's up to?"

Despite the casual tone, Peter looked up sharply, his expression suspicious. "Why d'you ask that?" he demanded.

Sirius blinked. He wasn't used to such aggression from little Peter; obviously having a girlfriend had given him some assertiveness. "It's just unusual to see you without her," he answered, trying to keep a careless, laid-back tone. "We've all got so used to seeing you sucking each other's faces off in a corner, now you're in a corner alone with some books."

Peter went back to his list. "She's just in the library, I think," he grunted.

Sirius was quiet as he looked at the smaller boy, thinking that he wasn't as merry as he used to be in single life. Regardless of his distrust of Adriana, Sirius still cared for his friend, and sensed ill ease. "Anything wrong, Pete?" he asked carefully.

Peter grunted again, but after a moment looked up, the watery blue eyes unusually bright. "It's nothing, Sirius, it's just – she seems to be spending more time... elsewhere, than she used to. She must have friends in another house or something, or loads of work, like me."

Friends in another house? Sirius frowned. Would that house be Slytherin, perhaps? This was the second real clue he had that she was no good, but he knew he had to keep it casual, so as not to worry Peter. "Does she tell you what she's doing when she's... elsewhere?" he asked.

"She usually says she's either in the library, catching up with work, or in the Owlery, writing to her family. She's very close to them," Peter added as he extracted a Charms theory book from the large pile in front of him.

Sirius digested this. He had to find out Peter's attitude. "Do you believe her?"

"I'd like to. But I have this niggling doubt." Peter wrung his hands nervously under the desk, and his small eyes were darting about the room, as though he shouldn't be saying this. "She's obviously beautiful, Sirius, and sometimes I wonder – why did she choose me?" His eyes fixed finally, on the book in front of him.

So do I, Sirius thought, but he had to be more supportive than that out loud. "Well, she did choose you, and she seems happy when I see you together. We've all got a shitload of work at the moment, I'm sure she is at the library, like she says." Peter was looking so desperate that Sirius felt obliged to reassure him, even if he himself doubted what he was saying.

Peter seemed slightly more relaxed after this, and the two friends started the Transfiguration essay together. As they worked, Sirius thought over the new information. So – even Peter doesn't know where she is a lot of the time. He thinks she's cheating on him, evidently. Likely as this could be, Sirius suspected something worse, and he decided he'd have to confront her himself.

And I've just discovered that you can use that Horizonatal Rule thing when you want to split up your story! I may be slow, but... actually, I can't think of a second part to that line. Chapter 23 coming soon!


	23. Dodgy Dealings

Sorry, I haven't updated for a while, but writing has been slow... Thanks as always for the reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Please excuse Sirius' atrocious language, I just don't know what to do with him! :)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Dodgy Dealings

"You say that, but can you look at my fucking eyes and tell me you're not up to anything dodgy?"

Adriana stared at Sirius, aghast. He'd come looking for her in the library, to find her in a secluded corner working for a change, on some late Charms work. Apparently Peter had told him she was often in there; lucky she had been, then, and not with Severus and the others. Peter may be a little dim, but she knew Sirius was onto her. She definitely knew now, anyway.

"Sirius, I don't know what you are talking about," she said, widening her blue eyes at him. "And I wish you wouldn't be so aggressive. I can't believe you would doubt my feelings for Peter." He wasn't convinced. As soon as he'd found her, he'd sat down and asked if she was cheating on Peter. No dilly-dallying about or anything; straight out with it. Of course, she'd denied it. She wasn't going to admit to any of his accusations, however on the mark they may be, and besides, it wasn't true.

"So you say you're not fooling around with anyone else." Sirius glared angrily at her, his brown eyes full of fire. "I'll believe you. But tell me this: what's going on with the Slytherins?"

Adriana put on her best little-girl-lost expression. "The Slytherins?" she gave a light, musical laugh. "What are you talking about now?"

"I'm talking about your little rendezvous with Snape and my brother and a couple of others." Sirius felt some triumph as he saw something flicker in her clear blue eyes. "Yes, that's right – I saw you meeting with them, months ago, and it didn't stop there, did it? You're up to something."

"Don't be so bloody narrow-minded, Sirius," Adriana snapped, letting some anger out. "Just because you and James and the others have some ridiculous, unfounded hatred for the Slytherins, doesn't mean I can't have friends from other houses."

Sirius glared her right in the face for a moment, then shook his head, making his hair fall in front of his face. "No, you're lying. You're still fucking lying!" He banged his fists down on the table in frustration, earning an angry warning look from the librarian on the other side of the room. Sirius leaned forward, so his face was close to Adriana's. "Okay, you're not going to tell me anything. But I will find out, and _I_'ll tell everyone, you hear?" He rose from his seat; Adriana's blue eyes were still on his face. "I'll see you in the common room later." He swept from the room, knocking some books over in the process, much to the further annoyance of the librarian.

Adriana sat looking at the place where he had been moments before. It was a shame, she thought, that she'd had to shack up with Peter, out of the group. But he was the most gullible, and the other Marauders were way to smart; Sirius had proved that now. But Sirius was so much more attractive, with those dark eyes and perfect hair. Especially when he was angry; and the way he cared so much for his friends! But it didn't matter either way. She already had a real man, with real power, and she couldn't let him down now.

She looked at her watch and saw it was time to go. Gathering up her books, she left the library soon after Sirius, and made her way in the opposite direction, to meet Regulus and Bellatrix. They'd have to know what danger they were in of being found out.

She reached the usual meeting place, which was just at the bottom of the steps leading from the Entrance Hall to the dungeons. It was dark down there, and hardly anyone but Slytherins were usually found there; this made it ideal for their purpose. Adriana saw two dark figures waiting at the bottom, and as she drew closer saw that one was Bellatrix and the other was not Regulus, but Lucius Malfoy.

"Evening, Adriana," Lucius greeted her in his lazy drawl, while Bellatrix barely smiled. "What news do you bring us of the mighty Lions?"

"Where's Regulus?" Adriana asked. She would rather the younger Black brother were here, instead of Malfoy, simply because Lucius' careless manner and cold, grey-blue eyes made her feel so strangely uncomfortable.

"He had other commitments." Bellatrix remained unsmiling as she answered in her deep voice. "In the form of a detention from McGonagall. Severus got one, too."

"You'll have to make do with me, Adriana," Lucius added softly. He towered above her, his long, light blond hair shining with a bluish tinge from the dim light at the top of the steps. She had to exercise a lot of self-control to keep herself from stepping backwards, away from him.

To calm herself, Adriana turned to Bellatrix and said hurriedly, "Sirius suspects me. He has done for a while, but he confronted me about it just now in the library."

"What did he say?"

"He saw us meeting together, months ago. I don't know why he hasn't done anything until now, probably too preoccupied with himself. But I think he just thinks I'm cheating on Peter – that's what he was talking to me about, but he might suspect something more, because you're involved."

"I wouldn't blame you if you were cheating on Pettigrew," Lucius said derisively. "I don't suppose he's giving you too much satisfaction. I for one could show you a much... better... time..." He stepped closer to Adriana, so their faces were almost touching, and put a hand up to rest on the stone wall behind her head.

Adriana ducked out of his reach, squared her slender shoulders and replied, "I don't think my _boyfriend_ would be too impressed with you then, Lucius." She was pleased to see a faint look of alarm flickering in the grey eyes.

Lucius leant back against the wall with his arms folded, while Bellatrix continued, "So Sirius doesn't really have any clue what's going on?"

"I'm not sure." Adriana furrowed her brow, thinking. "He was talking about my loyalty to Peter, but I don't think he really believes that. He thinks it could be something worse, in which case he would be right."

"But what on earth could be worse than little Pettigrew getting his heart broken?" Lucius asked mockingly, his eyes narrowed with scorn.

"Shut up, Lucius," Bellatrix snapped, before turning back to Adriana. "You'll just have to keep an eye on my dear cousin, see how he acts around you, and report back to us again. If you need to, continue this act of cheating on Pettigrew, it might put him off the scent."

Adriana sighed. "I wish I didn't have to go out with him, it's torture, he's so repulsive. If only I could use Sirius instead, that might be more enjoyable." Seeing their faces, she added, "I know, he's too smart to use in the plan."

"Only marginally," Lucius scoffed. "Besides, I doubt you _boyfriend_ would be too impressed with you, Adriana." His eyes glinted maliciously as she blanched.

Just then another figure materialised out of the gloom. It was Professor Harlem, dressed in dark blue robes which had helped to blend him into the darkness of the stairs. On seeing the three students, he stopped in surprise.

"Hello, what are you three up to, lurking in the shadows?" He spoke pleasantly and had meant it as a joke, liking to get on with all his pupils, but Lucius didn't take it that way.

"I don't see what it's got to do with you, Professor," he replied coldly. Malfoy had never taken much to Harlem, despite – or perhaps because of - the Astronomy teacher's absurdly laid-back and congenial nature.

Harlem was taken aback by such hostility; he blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, Lucius," he said, the bright blue eyes still warm. "I had no idea I would rouse such offence in you. Forgive me." With a swift smile and the barest of winks at Adriana, he continued on his jaunty way, disappearing into the murk of the corridor.

After a few seconds of quiet, Adriana turned to the two Slytherins. "Do you think he heard anything?" she asked.

"No, that idiot doesn't notice anything this close to the earth," Lucius answered in his usual contemptuous manner. "He may as well be a centaur, for all the use he is to this school."

"We can handle him, anyway, if he's a problem," Bellatrix added. She pushed Adriana gently towards the steps. "Now go, get back to the Gryffindor common room and carry on what you're doing. We'll meet again soon."


	24. The Quidditch Final

Thanks for the mega reviews, you're all dudes! This is quite a long chapter, compared with the others, but I really like writing the Quidditch games, so GET OVER IT!! hehe... I hope to finish soon... Oh, someone (sorry, I would put the name but I can't remember it and I can't be bothered to look) asked in a review AGES ago, did Lily know about Remus being a werewolf - when she and Sirius were talking by the lake? Well, I don't know, but I figured she probably did, because I wanted to use that line about werewolves' hearts changing with the moon... for some reason... Okay, fire away...

DISCLAIMER (continued disclaimer): I own nothing that JK owns.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Quidditch Final

The morning of the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw game, the last of this school year's season, dawned bright and warm, a sunny late May day. Breakfast was a merry affair, everyone, even including the two teams, excitedly anticipating the result of the final. The Great Hall rang with loud betting talk and friendly arguing.

James was determined his team would win; they had for all his previous years as Seeker, and he wasn't prepared to give up his winning spot without a fight. Sirius had his own personal battle, and had his hopes on seeing Marley Branson on the losing team for once. He'd been jokingly giving Bethan a hard time, constantly demanding to know which house she was supporting. She always assured him it was Gryffindor, of course, but she knew she daren't say that to Marley, who was just as resolute as her friends that Ravenclaw would triumph.

As James was still so often preoccupied with Lily these days, it meant Sirius and Remus spent most of their free time in each other's company. When they weren't busy being Marauders, their conversations always went in the same direction: either Sirius would complain about Marley, or he would talk in detail to Remus on his misgivings about Adriana. Remus had been concerned when he heard about Adriana' apparent meeting with the Slytherins, but after the tenth discussion of it, during which Sirius would repeat all the things he had already said, to try and convince Remus of the 'facts', he had become rather tired of the subject. As a consequence, he encouraged Sirius to concentrate on his work, so the two were always on top of all the essays and revision set, much to the amazement of their friends.

At the Gryffindor table the Marauders were eating scrambled egg on toast for breakfast, getting their strength up before the match (well, Sirius and James were). Remus was sitting between Lily and Adriana, and as they were both concerned with their better – or worse – halves, it meant that once again he was trapped into listening to Sirius talk about Bethan.

"I mean, just look at her," Sirius was saying furiously, pointing towards the Ravenclaw table where Bethan was sitting on Marley's knee, laughing at something he'd just said. "Consorting with the enemy, that's what I call it!"

He looked to Remus for some agreement, but was aghast when the reply was an exasperated, "Just leave her to it, Padfoot, let her do what she wants, even if it does mean supporting her _boyfriend_ in the Final."

"I've a good mind to give you a right kick up the bottom for saying that!" Sirius spluttered after a moment, but he had to laugh along with Sarah and Remus when he realised how ridiculous he'd sounded.

The match was at eleven. The students made their way across the grounds to the pitch, and took their places in the stands, eagerly awaiting the game. Ravenclaw seemed to have the most support, for although both houses were popular, Slytherin had such a vendetta against Gryffindor that they had to make do and cheer on the opposite team.

In the changing room, Sirius was starting to feel a slight nervous flutter in his stomach, but he knew it would disappear once he was in the air. Chaser Steven Brown, however, was in his usual state of great pre-game nerves, not helped by James' pep talk, which turned out to be more of a threat that if they didn't win they'd regret it.

"Excuse me, I need to use the little boys' wee wee room," Steven said with a nervous laugh, just as they were about to walk out onto the pitch.

"Oh, no you don't," James said sternly, steering him in the right direction and keeping a vice-like grip on his team mate's arm.

They walked on with the Ravenclaws to a rapturous greeting from the crowd. Sirius felt his heart lift as he gazed up at the people above him, and he saw Bethan, sitting with Lily and Sarah at the Gryffindor end, dressed in scarlet, as she should be. She was clapping madly and grinning and laughing. He noticed the way the bright sunlight glinted off her strawberry-blonde hair, and felt a fresh rush of anger as he looked back down and saw Marley opposite him, glaring as usual and not even glancing up at his beautiful girlfriend. Sirius grew even more determined to beat him this day, and raised his eyes again to the girls. He saw that Remus and Peter were there next to them, but where was Adriana? He didn't have a chance to look for her, as it was kick-off time, and instead he soared up into the air, accompanied by the thirteen other players and more cheering.

Gryffindor immediately took possession of the Quaffle, as they were prone to do. Jenny Miles, their third Chaser threw it to Steven who dodged a Bludger from Marley and lobbed it to Charlie Cooper, who got so close to the goalposts but – WHAM! The other Bludger was thrown his way from Ravenclaw's second Beater, a slim, brunette seventh year called Laura Fodden. She got her target and the goal was missed. Sirius scowled over at Helen, his fellow Gryffindor Beater, as Marley and Laura zoomed past each other, offering congrats on their interception.

Now Ravenclaw had the Quaffle, and their Chasers Billy, Dean and Myra were doing a good job of keeping possession and dodging the Bludgers at the same time. Too good a job, in Sirius' opinion, as he belted a Bludger as hard as he could in Dean Cooper's direction. He threw his bat in the air and caught it in celebration as Cooper had to swerve violently to avoid the heavy black ball, and in doing so Charlie Cooper grabbed the Quaffle and took it back to their end.

Steven and Jenny were waiting, poised, to receive the Quaffle, and this time they got it past Toby Barrett, the Ravenclaw Keeper, and into the middle hoop, to euphoric cheering from the red and scarlet crowd. Sirius and James joined up to fly an ecstatic lap around the stands, slapping the out-stretched hands of their supporters, and jeering at the Ravenclaws and Slytherins; all in good fun, of course.

As Sirius sailed, grinning widely, over the Slytherins' green heads, he spotted someone who surely shouldn't be there; a slender, blonde-haired, beautiful someone... He nearly fell off his broom in surprise, and looked around wildly for James. The game had restarted, and his teammates were waving him over. Ravenclaw had the Quaffle again.

Sirius hurried back on his broom to join the game. A Bludger came his way and he randomly hit out at it with his bat; it cannoned straight into Myra Shen, the Ravenclaw Chaser, just as she neared the goalposts ready to score. But Sirius hardly noticed the crowd cheering for him as he flew straight over to James.

"Good hit, Padfoot!" James congratulated his fellow Marauder.

Sirius waved the compliment away. "James! She's with the Slytherins! Adriana –"

"What?" James frowned slightly. "What are you talking about? Get back in the game!"

He flew upwards, taking his usual position above the other players, squinting about for the tiny golden Snitch. With a sigh, Sirius turned back round to view the game. Ravenclaw had scored now, meaning both teams were equal. Seeing Dom Wood, the Gryffindor Keeper, in spot of trouble as he was about to be attacked by two Ravenclaws and a Bludger, Sirius swiftly flew to his aid, beating the Bludger at the oncoming Ravenclaws. It worked; they scattered, losing the Quaffle to Steven, who had been hovering underneath them.

The game continued in this fashion; it was a very close match. The two teams were hot on each other's heels, and whenever one would score, it gave the other extra determination to also get a goal. In half an hour the score was seventy-all, and the pressure was steadily increasing on the two Seekers' shoulders to end the game and win the final for their team. But the Snitch hadn't yet made an appearance.

If the players were getting tired, they weren't showing it; besides, they had played for a lot longer than this before. This game, though, was extremely fast-paced, and everyone had to be on their toes all the time as the teams were so similar in talent and skill.

Sirius and Helen circled the game like hawks, darting into the fray whenever they saw a Gryffindor in trouble, or smacking a Bludger in if a Ravenclaw Chaser looked like he or she might score. James was up above, always moving, staring about keenly for the Snitch. He also kept a sharp eye on Jill Rexel, the Ravenclaw Seeker, in case she saw it before he did.

Sirius concentrated on the game, often giving some of his best hits yet, but his mind kept drifting back to Adriana, sitting in the Slytherin stands. He wondered if he had seen her, or if he'd made a mistake, and flew past the Slytherins section of the stands to make sure... She was there, between Snape and younger, curly-haired girl he didn't know. What the hell? Why wasn't she with Peter? He stared right at her as he flew past, and she smiled and waved at him.

A loud cheering distracted Sirius; he spun around and saw to his horror that Ravenclaw had scored again, putting them two above Gryffindor. Dom Wood looked like he had a nosebleed, and James had called time out.

Sirius quickly joined his team on the ground, and was faced with an angry glare from James.

"Where the hell were you when Branson got Dom right in the face with a Bludger?" he demanded. "That's what let the goal in!"

Sirius looked at Dom. The Keeper was holding a great wad of tissue to his nose. "Man, I'm sorry," he said, turning back to James. "I was –"

"I know what you were doing," James interrupted. "You were gawking at some girl. Stop getting distracted by pretty girls, Padfoot!"

Sirius' mouth fell open in surprise, but a second later he closed it in anger, ready to retaliate, but by that time James had gone, to see how Dom was doing.

"I'll be alright, James," he assured the Captain thickly.

"Okay, I'll believe you. Right, team," James addressed them confidently, "We only need two more to equal with them – you know as well as I do we can do it!"

"Especially if you get the Snitch, Cap'n," Steven hinted, grinning.

"I want no cheek from you," James warned, jokily pointing a finger at the Chaser. He rounded on Sirius. "And you – forget the girls for a minute, if you can, and try concentrating more on how much you hate Branson and want to beat him."

"I could do that," Sirius said grimly, as the seven of them soared back into the air ready to win the final.

But the Ravenclaws took advantage of their lead and scored another goal almost immediately. Steven, Charlie and Jenny increased their speed and took possession, managing to score one of their own. Beater Helen whacked a Bludger at Dean Cooper in celebration, which unfortunately got him scare in the jaw. Ravenclaw was awarded a penalty and Helen called "sorry!" over to James, who merely shrugged; he knew she was unpredictable, a trait which sometimes got them into trouble, but more often got them ahead in the game.

Billy Budweiser took the penalty, while Myra Shen helped Dean to recuperate. He appeared to aim for the left-hand goal, but Dom, his nose now dry but still swollen, knew all the tricks and caught the Quaffle as Billy lobbed it for the middle post.

James stopped in his search for the Snitch to do a high-five with Sirius, but at that moment Jill Rexel sped past him towards the Ravenclaw end, clearly having seen the tiny ball.

"Prongs, the Snitch!" Sirius yelled, his face aghast.

James turned and zoomed after Jill without a moment's hesitation. His broom was minutely faster than hers, but she was far ahead, nearing the Snitch already. It was hovering just below the right-hand hoop. Jill reached a hand out, ready to grab it. James sped up, his eyes and mind on the Snitch alone. He caught up, he could touch her broom-tail now... But it was too late, Jill had the tiny winged Snitch in her raised hand and her teammates were rushing towards her, screaming and shouting along with their many supporters in the stands.

The Gryffindors regrouped on the ground, slapping each other's shoulders and bravely smiling.

"It was a good game, dudes," James told them, though his face was white from the chase of the Snitch and the defeat. "We put up a good fight, and if we had to lose to anyone, I'd rather it be Ravenclaw."

They all agreed with him, though Sirius privately thought he wouldn't mind losing to them so much if Marley Branson wasn't on the team. Nevertheless he applauded gallantly with the rest as Toby Barrett held the Cup aloft, and tried not to look to see if Bethan was happy or not.


	25. We're onto you!

Hey dudes! Here's the next exciting installment of the freak show!... hmm... cheers for the reviews, as always, they're so cool - I can't believe someone (again, I can't remember who, sorry!) read the whole thing in one go! Hope you enjoy it...

Chapter Twenty-Five: We're onto you!

James, Sirius and the rest of the Gryffindor team joined up with Lily, Sarah, Remus and Peter and made their way back to the castle and the common room. They were a subdued crowd, Lily trying to comfort James by saying he'd played wonderfully, Peter looking strangely one-sided without Adriana, and Sirius glumly thinking about Bethan, probably celebrating with Marley right now.

Noticing the continued absence of Adriana, he remembered seeing her in the Slytherin stands and turned to Peter.

"Where's –" he started to ask.

"Bethan?" Peter finished for him. "I thought you'd ask that, and I won't lie to you – she's with Branson."

"Well, I assumed that," Sirius said. "I was going to ask where Adriana was. I didn't see her with you in the stands." He didn't tell Peter where he had seen her.

Peter's face clouded with worry. "She was feeling really ill, so she had to miss the game. She's in the Hospital Wing." Sirius' mouth dropped open in dismay and disbelief: the girl had stooped to new levels of deceit! Peter took this reaction to be one of concern for Adriana's health. "Yeah, I'm not sure what was wrong, but... maybe I should go visit her now."

"Yes, maybe you should, be a good boyfriend," Sirius agreed, thinking that Peter should discover Adriana's dishonesty for himself. That way, he, and the others, would be more inclined to believe Sirius at last.

The group had nearly reached the secret entrance to their common room when they found themselves facing Severus Snape, who had been loitering in the corridor. He immediately stepped out in front of them, looking unusually bold and eager to pick a fight.

"Very impressive playing today, Potter," he sneered, obviously revelling in their recent defeat. "I suppose you don't know what to do with yourself – you'll have to get used to failure from now on, I'd say."

"I expect I could take a few pointers from you, Snivellus," James replied, "although I think I'll carry on washing my hair, whatever happens."

Snape flushed slightly under his greasy pallor. "Oh nark off, Potter," he snarled, as though they had got in his way.

"_Nark off_... I always loved that phrase," Sirius smiled reflectively. "But I've never had the guts to say it – now I'm glad I didn't, it sounds ridiculous."

"Who asked you, Black?" Snape glared at him.

"You're right, no one did, I suppose I just can't control my big gob." Sirius shrugged. "Snivellus, I hate to be the one who breaks it to you... who am I kidding? I love to be the one to break it you! But the point is, however much you try to be a dude, you'll always be a dweeb. If I could help you I... probably wouldn't, but," he finished sadly, "It's just not to be." Without giving Snape another glance, he strode off towards Gryffindor Tower, and the others followed, laughing as they left behind a very disgruntled Slytherin.

In the common room, the friends sat together in front of the fire as usual, talking about the game and eating the food that James had taken from the kitchens to cheer everyone up. Sirius split off from the group and turned to Remus, ready to tell him about his new information on Adriana.

"Moony – she was watching the game from the Slytherin stands!" he said in a hushed voice. "She was sitting next to Snape."

"But Peter said she was ill in the Hospital Wing," Remus said, frowning.

"It was a lie! I saw her sitting next to Snape and some Slytherin cow," Sirius assured him, his brown eyes wide, "I looked her right in the eye, and she smiled and waved, as if she was doing nothing wrong."

"Well..."

"And don't you say she was doing nothing wrong!" Sirius interrupted. "Okay, so there's nothing _really_ wrong with sitting with Snape and the Slytherins, although it's a bit weird, but she lied to Peter, and you can't say that that's acceptable! Why did she tell Peter she was ill, just so that she could sit with them? There's obviously something bizarre going on here, don't you agree?"

"Yep, she's as crooked as a dog's hind leg, alright," Remus agreed seriously.

"This is no time to make jokes, we're onto something here!"

"I wasn't joking," Remus replied. "I've just been waiting for ages for an opportunity to use that phrase."

"Oh." Sirius thought back over it. "It's a very good phrase, well done."

"Thank you." Remus smiled, pleased with himself and the simile, before he remembered the situation. "So what're you gonna do now?" he asked quietly.

"Well, Peter's gone to visit her in the Hospital Wing," Sirius said. "Now, he's either gonna come back here and say that she wasn't there, or, she'll be onto him and will have sneaked back there after the game, knowing that he'd be worried about her."

"I think she'll do that," Remus said.

"Me too."

Sensing that his friends were being secretive, James called over, "Hey, what're you two discussing behind your hands?"

Remus looked at Sirius, unsure what to say, but Sirius answered without hesitation, "Adriana, and what her secret agenda could be."

"Oh." James grinned, thinking it might be a joke. "So what conclusions have you come up with?"

"That all depends on whether Peter comes back with her or not, from the Hospital Wing," Sirius told him. "I saw her at the game, watching with the Slytherins, but she told him that she was ill – what explanation can she have for that?"

"With the Slytherins?" James repeated, flabbergasted. "Nah!"

Sirius opened his mouth to argue but at that moment the sound of the portrait hole opening made him twist round on the sofa to see who was coming in. Sure enough, as he and Remus had predicted, it was Peter and behind him was Adriana, looking as angelic as usual.

The two of them made their way over to join the group, and Remus nudged Sirius, urging him to say something.

"So, feeling better now?" Sirius asked Adriana, trying to at least make an attempt to sound as though he cared.

"Yes, much better thanks," she replied sweetly, giving him the exact same smile she had from the Slytherins' stand at the game.

"I'm sure all the excitement of the game made you forget all about being ill?" he asked, looking her straight in the eyes, searching for a flicker, anything in those blue depths.

"I'm sorry?" she asked after a moment, the tiniest confused frown on her face.

So it's gonna be like this, Sirius thought, before answering, "I saw you at the match, you can't lie this time!" Beside him on the sofa Remus shifted uncomfortably; he always hated confrontations. When Adriana continued to put on the innocent act, Sirius said, "Let me remind you: you were sitting next to Snape, and a girl with curly brown hair, and you smiled up at me and waved as I flew past."

"You must have been hallucinating, Sirius," Adriana smiled again and waved away his accusations. "You really do come out with the funniest things sometimes. I was in the Hospital Wing, I missed the match." She looked around, and saw that everyone was looking at her; they didn't know the length of Sirius' suspicions, and found the whole conversation baffling.

"In fact I still don't feel one hundred percent, so I think I'll go and have a rest upstairs," she said, before kissing Peter quickly and hurrying up to the dormitory.

Sirius frowned after her, then turned to Remus. "See – she knows I'm onto her, Moony! She practically bolted from that conversation!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Peter demanded, looking the most baffled out of everyone. "What exactly are you accusing Adriana of?"

"I'm sorry to say, Wormtail, but I have reason to believe that your girlfriend's up to something a wee bit dodgy," Sirius answered.

"Yes, we think she's as crooked as a dog's hind leg," Remus added.

"Yeah, it's a good line but don't wear it out, mate," Sirius told him. Remus sat back in his chair, looking defeated.

"Exactly what reasons do you have for believing this?" Peter asked, looking unimpressed. "For entertainment value, I'll listen."

Sirius turned to answer him. "I've seen her hanging around with the Slytherins – she claims they're 'just friends', but considering that they were Lucius Malfoy, Snape and my brother and my cousin, I would rethink that story. And today I definitely saw her with my own two eyes watching the game – she was nowhere near the Hospital Wing and was certainly not ill!"

Peter took all this in, his expression angry, then shook his head. "No, it's a load of rubbish, you don't know what you're talking about!"

"Well I'm sorry if I'm _embarrassing_ you by telling you your girlfriend's untrustworthy –" Sirius started.

"You're not embarrassing me, you're embarrassing yourself," Peter interrupted, as he rose from his seat. "I'm not listening to this anymore, I'm going out."

"Where to?" Remus asked, looking concerned.

"I don't know," Peter answered as he reached the door again. "I'll see you guys later."

And he was gone. Sirius stared at the portrait hole, and raised a finger to point at where Peter had been. "He can't accept it," he told the whole group, who were looking shocked; they hadn't expected this sort of talk at all. "He's finally got himself a beautiful girlfriend who apparently likes him, too, and he can't accept that she's no good."

James looked at the others before venturing, "It sounds to me like you can't accept that she is perfectly nice, and just prefers Wormtail to you."

Sirius banged his fist down on the arm of the sofa. "No! For God's sake, why can't you people accept that _I no longer fancy Adriana_? I'm telling you, she's –"

"No good, up to something, untrustworthy, we heard you," James finished. "I'm sorry to say it, but all your 'evidence' sounds more like educated guesswork."

"Well, fine, believe what, or who, you like," Sirius said wearily. "But sometime soon one of us is gonna be embarrassed, and I tell you what, matey boy, it's not gonna be me."

"Sirius, don't get angry with me," James said, uncharacteristically serious and quiet. "I'm just telling you how all this sounds. What are you saying exactly?"

"I'm saying that she can't come in here and start fucking things up when we've got along just fine without her."


	26. They say the sun is sometimes eclipsed b...

Okay, here is Chappie 26, things are hotting up! (Except the writing, which remains its awful self.) Bad news, though, because the computer has rebelled and... gone funny, to use a technical term. My story has temporarily gone missing... There were two finished chapters not yet posted here, and the story's not finished yet... But I'll find them, I promise! Assuming you care, although the reviews continue to be positive, so that's a good sign! Cheers dudes!

Chapter Twenty-Six: They say the Sun is sometimes eclipsed by the Moon

The next Friday afternoon, almost a week later, the Gryffindors had their usual lazy lesson with Professor Harlem. They were reading about Pluto, the last planet in the solar system, today.

"Pluto is so far away in the universe," Harlem told them in his soft Irish drawl, sitting as usual on his desk at the front of the class, "that the Sun would only appear to it as a brightish star amongst countless others in the sky. The planet is named after Hades, the ancient ruling god of the underworld in Greek and Roman mythology."

The mythical origins and naming of the planets, as the students had long-since found out, was Harlem's favourite part of the subject. He carried on, "Pluto is a mysterious, remote world, unimaginably cold and forbidding... which I suppose gives us an idea of what the Slytherins' common room might be like," he added with a roguish smile.

Enjoying a piss-take of the rival house, the pupils laughed appreciatively. Except for Adriana, Sirius noticed, as he glanced at her. He didn't mention it to James next to him, though.

After he'd finished on Pluto, Harlem decided they'd do something on eclipses. "As the eclipse of the Sun is coming up on Sunday," he said as they turned to the relevant pages in their textbooks.

They read about eclipses of the Moon first. "There is an eclipse of the Moon whenever the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun in such a way that the Moon's orbit takes it into the Earth's shadow," the book said. "This can happen only at full moon, when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun."

At this point Remus was interrupted in his reading when a note fell on the open page in front of him. He unfolded it and read Sirius' scrawled handwriting: "Bad Luck, Wolfman!"

Remus grinned and carried on reading about lunar eclipses.

Towards the end of the lesson, Harlem told them a little about eclipses of the Sun, in preparation for Sunday. "An eclipse of the Sun takes place when the Moon passes between it and the Earth. When the Moon appears to be the same size as the Sun as we view it from here, the eclipse is said to be total. In such an eclipse, the Moon's shadow falls on a region of the Earth and sunlight is cut off from that region." He paused and looked at them, the ever-present smile quivering on his lips.

"Those are the facts," he said, "but it's much more exciting watching it for real. I expect you all to be up on the Tower on Sunday afternoon; you owe to me guys, after the lack of homework I've set you this year."

The end of the lesson came and they packed up. Sirius was quite looking forward to the eclipse, but next to him James grumbled, "Sounds like a bit of a waste of a Sunday, especially when we'll probably have hangovers. Oh well, something to get out of bed for, I suppose."

Sirius frowned. "Apart from me?" he asked. "How dare you?!"

As they walked out the door, Harlem said, "My condolences on your defeat last weekend," but the smirk could still be seen.

"Oh, shut yet trap, sir," Sirius replied lightly, "Or I'll give you a goo punch up the bottom."

"Such decadence I've never heard of," Harlem muttered.

"You like that phrase, don't you, Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"Punch up the bottom? Yeah," Sirius said. "I'm airing more towards 'punch up the bracket' not, though; it sounds less... homoerotic."

Absorbed in their conversation, the Marauders didn't notice Adriana hanging back to arrange a private meeting with Harlem later on after dinner; to discuss some problems she had with the subject, she said.

* * *

"I'd better be going," Adriana said that evening, rising from where she had sat at Peter's feet before the fire. "I don't want to be late for my appointment with Professor Harlem."

"Ooh!" The girls whooped excitedly. "Up on the tower, is it?" Bethan asked, giggling. "How romantic!"

"Aren't you worried, Peter?" Lily added. "What if that _gorgeous_ man tries it on with your gorgeous girlfriend?" she teased.

Peter smiled up at Adriana. "I trust you," he said as she bent down to kiss him. Sirius had to look away; he felt no trace of jealousy, but the sounds of the couple bidding each other farewell went on for ages and were hard to bear. Finally Lily broke it up, by saying loudly, "See you later, then, hun."

Her prompt had the right effect, and soon Adriana had gone, leaving Peter rather red in the face.

"Yeah," said Bethan, also getting up, "I'd better go too, I'm meeting Marley tonight." Sirius gave a snort of derisive laughter, which luckily only James heard.

"Right." James slapped Sirius on the thigh. "Let's finish this Transfiguration homework, then."

"Nothing would give me more pleasure," Sirius replied dryly as they sat down at the table and got their books out. "Moony, Wormtail, you coming?"

Peter came over to join them, but Remus remained where he was, at the window. "No, I'll do it later," he said absently.

"Dost my ears deceive me?" shocked wasn't the word for how James sounded. "Or is Remus Lupin, top student and prefect, _putting off_ his homework?"

Remus didn't reply, but continued to look out at the deserted, darkening school grounds. The others were all turned towards him, looking puzzled.

"You alright, Moony?" James asked.

Remus looked around and blinked, he seemed surprised and self-conscious to see everyone so interested in him. "Yes, of course," he said, and then grinned. "Why, what have you heard?" The others laughed as he came to sit beside them. "I'm just a bit tired after the full moon, but you're right, I do need to do this homework."

Sarah sat down between James and Peter and looked at their work. "I've got to do that, too," she realised sadly, and went to fetch her bag.

Half an hour later the five were sat at the same table, scribbling busily. Lily had gone to bed, having done the homework already, and Bethan had left to meet Marley. Sirius and James were racing each other to see who could finish the final paragraph first. James glanced over at Sirius' parchment and continued writing on his own at an even greater speed. He finished with a gleeful smile and a triumphant flourish, and set his quill down just as Sirius scoured a full stop into his page.

"Face it: you're a pathetic loser compared with the likes of me," James said smugly, leaning onto the back two legs of his chair with his hands behind his head.

Sirius looked at his own parchment, then at James'. "You haven't put your name on yours," he commented casually, as he screwed the lid onto his inkbottle.

James brought his chair back down to all fours with a bang and inspected his work. "Crap!"

Sarah looked at both the scrolls. "You know it doesn't matter," she told them, "because no one would be able to read either of your equally abysmal handwriting, and McGonagall definitely won't accept what you've just produced."

Sirius eyed her lazily. "Don't be pedantic, Sarah," he said, closing his tired eyes, "if it's that bad then McGonagall can Transfigure the writing into something more to her liking."

Peter set his quill down and looked up. "Done!" he announced proudly.

"Well done, Wormy," Sirius yawned.

"Guys," Sarah said suddenly, "Where's Adriana?"

Sirius opened his eyes to see Peter look up quickly at Sarah, who wore a worried expression. Remus checked his watch.

"Yeah, it's been nearly an hour," he told them, "that meeting thing with Harlem shouldn't have taken this long."

"In theory," Sirius said logically. "But you all know how much Harlem likes to talk; chances are Adriana's still standing up on the tower freezing and listening to him going on about one of Jupiter's moons or something." He couldn't deny to himself that this was a satisfying thought.

"Or," Sarah said, her voice rising, "something awful could have happened!"

"Yeah," Peter agreed, sounding worried and squeaky, "Remember what Lily said – Harlem might try it on with my gorgeous girlfriend!"

"No." Sirius banged his palms down on the table and sat up properly, glaring at them. "Why are you saying that? You're making something out of fucking nothing! You know that Professor Harlem would never do anything like that."

"Well, where is she then?" Sarah asked timidly after a moment's silence.

All four of them looked to Sirius. He sighed, feeling slightly guilty about his outburst. "If you're that worried, why don't we go check on her?" He looked at Remus, and they seemed to be thinking the same thought: what was Adriana up to?

"At this time of night?" Sarah said. "We'll be caught!"

"I'll get the Cloak," James said, and sprinted up the stairs.

At Sarah's obvious confusion, Sirius explained, "He has an Invisibility Cloak. Comes in very handy for parties and late night feasts and general late night wanderings. But keep it under cover," he added confidentially, giving her a wink as he mimed zipping his lips up.

"It won't fit all five of us under there, though," Peter protested.

"It'll fit four at most," Sirius muttered, working out a plan as he spoke. "Me and Moony can stay here, in case she comes back, and you three go." When Peter looked suspicious, he assured him, "Don't worry, I won't try anything with her." 'That was _so_ last year!' he thought with a small smile.


	27. An Unhappy Lot

Hi!! I'm sorry it's taken so long, but my computer had problems and needs to see a psychiatrist really... it deleted some of my chapters and I had to re-write them, annoyingly, but here's Chapter Twenty-Seven, and I hope no one has died from waiting for the outcoe of the last installment's cliff-hanger!! (I think that thinking's a little bit too optimistic for my writing...!) Hope you enjoy it! x x x Thank you, as ever, for all the brilliant reviews, I'm so pleased that my meandering story is being so well-received! Okay, now you can read - this chappie's quite long, but exciting! No, actually it's not very... Oh, just read it!

Chapter Twenty-Seven: An Unhappy Lot

James, Sarah and Peter crept along the corridors underneath the Invisibility Cloak, trying to keep as quite as possible. This was hard, as Peter, who as the shortest was in the middle, kept treading on the others' feet. Just as James kept himself from swearing about yet another bruised toe, his ears pricked and he threw an arm out in front of Peter and Sarah for them to stop.

"I thought I heard something," he whispered. "Might be Filch, or a teacher."

They listened hard for a few seconds, but heard nothing. James nodded for them to carry on. They were near the entrance to the Astronomy Tower now; it was only a few doors away on this corridor.

Suddenly a green streak of light came at them out of a dark room on the right. It hit Peter in the stomach, knocking him backwards against the wall, and the Cloak pulled James and Sarah with him. They fell to the floor in a jumble of limbs and Cloak, but James was on his feet immediately, wand out ready and peering in the torchlight to see who the attacker was.

Severus Snape stepped into the light, his usual sneer even more exaggerated today. On James' left, out of another room, came Sirius' huge cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. James looked from one to the other uneasily; he was used to bad feeling from the Slytherins, but this seemed a bit too extreme.

James glanced quickly down at Peter. Sarah was kneeling next to him, checking he was okay. He had hit his head hard on the wall and his breathing was shallow, but his eyes were open in his pale face. Sarah, seeing Bellatrix and Snape above her, quickly stood and got her wand out, too, standing next to James.

"What's this about, Snape?" James asked warily, whilst keeping an eye on Bellatrix.

"It's nothing that concerns you, Potter," he replied through curled lips. "You would do well to leave now – for once keep your nose out of other people's business."

"Where's Adriana?" Sarah asked, her voice giving away only a slight quaver.

"Don't worry about your Gryffindor friend," Bellatrix said in her deep, unfeminine voice. "Severus has warned you once; we'll give you one last chance to leave unharmed."

James and Sarah exchanged the smallest of glances before James said with a short laugh, "We're not going anywhere."

"Fine," Bellatrix smiled humourlessly and started twirling her wand faster and faster, making them feel even more uneasy, until she suddenly pointed her wand and shouted "_Rictusempra_!"

This spell hit James and he cannoned into the wall; Sarah screamed as he hit the floor, but luckily kept her wits about her, because Snape was looking devious.

He raised his wand to her and cried, "_Stupefy_!" but she dove to the ground just in time. The red streak of light shot over her and James' heads as she gasped "_Tarantallegra_!" and aimed her wand up at Snape. The spell hit him and his feet started to move uncontrollably; he was jerking around in a frenzied tap-dance.

Sarah looked sideways at James and was horrified to see that Bellatrix's spell had knocked him unconscious. She looked back at the two Slytherins and saw Snape still jumping around and Bellatrix coming menacingly towards her. She jumped to her feet and at that moment Snape managed to point his wand in the right direction and send another stunning spell her way.

Sarah shouted "_Protego_!", the shield charm, and sent the red spell right back at him. His legs stopped moving immediately and he slumped to the ground. Sarah stared at his still body for a second, but didn't have time to dwell on what she'd done, for she realised Bellatrix was still there, grinning evilly. Sarah didn't see how she could beat the seventh-year Slytherin on her own; for she was alone now. She looked around for something that could help her, and thought of the first spell that came to mind.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

Bellatrix snarled with rage as he wand spun threw the air out of her grip and she went to retrieve it. From behind her, Sarah heard footsteps and her heart lifted in one moment. She turned to see Professor McGonagall hurrying towards her, and she ran to meet the teacher.

"Professor, thank god," Sarah breathed in relief. "We were attacked, by –"

She turned again, pointing, but the corridor was occupied only by the three motionless forms of Peter, James and Snape now. Bellatrix had gone, taking her wand with her.

* * *

Meanwhile Bethan wasn't having a happy evening, either. She'd gone down to the Entrance Hall to meet Marley, as they had arranged to earlier in the day, but ended up waiting for at least half an hour for him to appear. When he did, it was out of an empty room off the huge hall.

Bethan had just got up from where she'd been sitting on the marble steps waiting, ready to give up and go back to the common room. She walked angrily over to where he was standing, looking not the least bit sorry.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "I've been waiting for ages!"

"Again, please?" was his reply, as he put his arms around her waist.

Bethan frowned even further. "We were supposed to meet here, remember, where've you been?"

Marley gave an impish smile. "I was resting." But at that moment the door of the room he'd just came out of opened again and someone else came out – a girl, whom Bethan recognised from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. It was Laura Fodden, Marley's fellow Beater.

When she saw Marley and Bethan standing there, she stopped, looking shocked at first, but then smiled. "Oh, hi, Bethan," she said, "Sorry if we kept you waiting – me and Marley were just discussing some Quidditch details." She went past them up the marble staircase, then turned and said, "See you later, Marley."

As Laura's footsteps died away, Bethan looked up at Marley, utterly furious. She stepped away from him. "You bastard, how dare you!" she screamed, lashing out with her fists at his sturdy chest.

Marley laughed, adding further to her rage. He grabbed her fists and stayed them. "Come on, Bethan – you heard her, we were just discussing Quidditch!"

"Don't give me that shit!" she cried as she wrenched her hands from his grip. "The Quidditch season's fucking over and you're cheating on me with a girl so thick she can't even get her cover story straight!" Bethan didn't wait for a reply but ran away up the steps, trying to blink away the tears that came to her eyes.

Marley followed her and caught her arm, forcing her to face him. "Bethan, please," he said, and the annoying smirk had vanished from his face now. "I'm sorry, it was an accident."

"Accident my deep blue eyes," she muttered furiously.

"Would you listen to me? I love you, Bethan. Please – forgive me this terrible mistake, and then I might begin to forgive myself."

Bethan couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What absolute crap! You think I want to still be with you, when I've seen the way you've thrown aside Laura, and me – you have no respect for either of us! You're using her for sex... I don't know what you were using me for."

"I'm not using you, I love you."

"Shut up!" she screamed, stepping away again. "You don't know anything about love!"

"Just a little bit, around the edges," he admitted, smiling slightly and taking a step towards her, closing the gap she had made.

"So you just want to forget about this?" she asked.

"Gladly, please."

Bethan glared at him, making sure he got no closer to her. "Forget! How can you expect me to – when you've been screwing that girl behind my back!"

"Just enough to keep the milk from going sour," he grinned, unable to stop himself. "Bethan, I love you, but a man can't live on bread, he needs some crumpet."

Revolted, Bethan turned away again to leave. "You're disgusting," she spat. "I can't believe you've tried to describe this situation with some horrible metaphor. It's degrading to everyone involved." She turned around again to look at him as she repeated, "I never want to see you again."

She ran down the corridor, heading back to the common room. After a while she stopped, feeling exhausted, and leant against the wall; she closed her eyes and at last let the tears fall freely. She felt so furious, with herself and Marley, and embarrassed that she's let him string her along. Sirius had been right all along about him... but thinking of Sirius made her feel even more miserable.

Wiping her eyes, she carried on walking, wishing she were already in bed in Gryffindor Tower. All she wanted to do was go to sleep, and never wake up. The torches along the corridor guttered with a cold night wind and she shivered. From down the corridor she heard a quiet voice.

"Did we have to leave him like that?" it asked, sounding nervous and timid.

"It was necessary, and besides, our Lord wouldn't appreciate you feeling such passion for his enemies, Regulus," another voice replied. Bethan recognised this As Lucius Malfoy, and she knew Regulus was Sirius' brother. She tensed, and drew back against the wall.

Another voice spoke. "That's right, Lucius, and he's not dead, anyway – if that makes you feel better, Regulus. But this is not our main concern... Our Lord will be most pleased with us if we bring him some valuable news of Hogwarts and its leaders."

That was Adriana, and Bethan felt even more confused upon hearing her voice. She shivered again as she heard Lucius' cold voice again.

"You assume you know about the Lord's plans, Adriana? This is most pretentious of you."

"The Lord loves me, and I love him. I have nothing to fear," was Adriana's reply.

Lucius laughed nastily. "He hates love, and neither knows or wants anything to do with the weakest of emotions. You should not deceive yourself, girl."

Bethan backed down the corridor slowly as she this comment brought back her recent painful conversation with Marley. She realised Adriana and the two Slytherins would be walking towards her, and, not wanting to be seen by them, turned quickly around, ready to retrace her footsteps and take a different route to the common room. She saw two more dark figures heading her way from the other direction, and squinted through the torchlight to see who they were. When she recognised them, she ran forwards and threw herself upon the nearest of the two.

"Remus!" she cried into his shoulder. She tried to say more, but the tears really came now, and Remus shot Sirius a puzzled look over her head.

"Bethan? What's wrong?" he asked, holding her tight while Sirius put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's Marley!" she managed to answer, and Sirius' fingers convulsively tightened on her arm. "He's been cheating on me with some Ravenclaw tart!"

"WHAT?!" Sirius exploded, but then they heard the footsteps of Adriana and the others heading their way. Thinking quickly, he opened a door next to them and ushered Remus and Bethan inside, quietly closing it behind them.

"It's Adriana," Bethan whispered through her tears. "I heard her talking to you brother, Sirius, and Lucius Malfoy." She told them everything she'd heard, and they hurriedly explained to her everything they knew – or assumed – was going on.

"And I was Adriana's friend!" Bethan said, outraged. In her emotional state, her eyes filled once again.

"We all were," Remus said soothingly, as he wiped away the tears with his thumb. He looked at Sirius. "What shall we do now?"

Sirius waited a few seconds, biting his lip as he thought. "I'm going to follow them," he said finally, and raised a hand to stop Remus interrupting. "No – you two go up to the Tower to look for Harlem, and James and the others."

Remus and Bethan looked worried still.

"I'll be fine," Sirius told them confidently. "I'm just going to see what they're up to." He went to Bethan, tenderness in his eyes. "Angel, I'm sorry about Marley. But you're better off without him, anyway." He kissed her lightly on the forehead and, turning, quickly left the room, getting his wand out ready.


	28. Poor, poor Sirius part two

What-ho chaps! Hope you're absolutely fine and dandy... Many thanks for the spiffing reviews and I hope no one was put off reading the story because of the delays. The therapy for the computer isn't doing much good; technology is still rebelling against me and we're not friends. Nevertheless here is the next chapter. Do have an unusual day...

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Poor, poor Sirius (part 2)

Remus and Bethan left the room soon after Sirius, holding their wands out ready and peering down the guttering torch lit corridor. There was no sign or sound now of Adriana, Regulus and Lucius, or of Sirius. They both hoped he would be okay.

They kept quiet and close together as they walked, making their way as quickly as possible to the Astronomy Tower, to find Professor Harlem. They reached the doorway opening to the steps which led up to the Tower, and found it open and unlocked.

"Adriana must have been in a hurry," Remus muttered as he started up the stone steps.

At the top the sky opened out, such a dark blue that it was almost black, with tiny bright pinpricks of stars. They didn't notice this, however, as their attention was immediately drawn to the still form of Professor Harlem, lying at their feet; it looked like he was –

"No dead?" Bethan whispered in horror, forgetting that she'd heard Adriana assuring Regulus that the teacher was still alive.

"I don't think so," Remus answered as he inspected the teacher, and then looked closely around the dark Tower. There was no one else there, and no evidence of a struggle.

"We need to get him to the Hospital Wing," Bethan said, trying to lift Harlem by his arms.

Remus hurried over to help. "Here – _Mobilicorpus_." The spell made Harlem rise into the air, still unconscious but upright, like a Pinocchio puppet with no strings. Bethan found this very eerie, but knew as she followed Remus, who was directing Harlem down the steps with his wand, that it was easier than trying to carry him around the school.

When they reached the Hospital Wing they found Sarah and Professor McGonagall just outside the door, talking quietly and looking worried. When she saw Remus and Bethan approaching with the floating body of Harlem in front of them, McGonagall looked even more dismayed and asked, "What on earth's happened now?"

Remus went to explain to her, and Bethan rushed to Sarah, relieved to see one of her girlfriends at last.

"Bethan, what's wrong?" Sarah asked as she noticed her friend's tear-stained face with concern.

"Marley and I broke up!" she wailed. Sarah gasped and drew her into a hug, and Bethan continued, "And no all this is happening – what happened to you?" she asked.

"Me and James and Peter went to check on Adriana up on the Tower," Sarah explained, "but we met a couple of Slytherins on the way. The guys got knocked out – but I got Snape," she added brightly. "Bellatrix Lestrange was there, too – you know, Sirius' cousin? But she just disappeared somewhere when McGonagall got there." Sarah frowned. "Where is Sirius, by the way?"

* * *

Sirius followed Adriana, Lucius and Regulus along the school corridors, keeping as far away from them as was possible whilst still having them within eyesight. Six years as a Marauder had trained him well for real-life situations such as this, and he made no sound as he crept cat-like in the shadows.

Up ahead, Adriana and the two Slytherins reached a corner; Sirius quickened his pace to keep on the trail but then heard footsteps behind him. Fearing Filch or worse (could there be any worse?), Sirius melted into the shadow of a suit of armour and looked to see who it was.

Even in the gloom of the corridor, Sirius could recognise the powerful form of Marley Branson striding his way. Bethan's anguished face, wet with tears, swam in front of Sirius' eyes and although his purpose of keeping an eye on Adriana was in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but confront Branson now.

He stepped out into the torchlight just as Marley reached him. The seventh-year looked mildly surprised for a second, but then resumed the usual expression of distaste he seemed to reserve for Sirius.

"I suppose you feel even more powerful now," Sirius spat, unable to keep the anger and hatred from his voice, "after what you've done to Bethan."

"No more than you regard yourself a hot-shot," Marley replied, squaring his shoulders for a fight. "It's none of your business, Black – although I suppose you'll make it yours. I know how you feel about Bethan." He smiled nastily. "It must kill you that I got there first."

Sirius' eyes narrowed furiously. "You don't deserve her," he growled, his fists clenching at his sides. "You never did. How could a monster like you appreciate a girl like Bethan?"

"A monster, am I?" Marley laughed, taking a menacing step forwards. "Listen – you're no better than I am when it comes to treating girls right, so you'd better come down off your high horse and stop defending her, alright?"

Sirius hoped no fear was showing in his eyes as he faced this hulk of a seventeen-year-old, but suddenly, before he had time to answer, he couldn't think because Marley had drawn back his right hand in a fist and punched him right in the eye. Sirius was hit with such force that he reeled backwards into the stone wall, and his knees buckled, collapsing him to the floor. Marley bent over him, leering horribly.

"It's none of your fucking business anyway," he said. Sirius wasn't sure if he was going to get the crap kicked out of him now, but then they both heard a girl's voice calling from the other end of the corridor.

Marley's head whipped round and he got up, waking quickly away towards the voice without giving Sirius another glance or thought, as he called back, "Hey, Laura!"

'That went well,' Sirius thought, seeing stars. 'What a bastard.' He also realised that he'd lost Adriana and the others now, but when he looked up he blearily he saw the two figures of Lucius Malfoy, and his brother Regulus.

"What an agreeable sight," drawled Lucius, sounding highly amused as he stared down at Sirius lying on the floor with a cut eye. "What genius decided to reveal the true worth of Sirius Black? I shall have to congratulate him."

Sirius managed to pull himself up, clinging to the wall until he was eye-to-eye with the Slytherin. "Where's Adriana?" he asked.

"Calm yourself, Black," Lucius answered, still sounding amused. "She has no need of a gallant saviour such as yourself." His grey gaze lingered on Sirius' quickly bruising eye. "Although I can see why you would concern yourself with her – very much your type, isn't she?"

"I ask out of no concern for her!" Sirius said angrily. "But out of concern for my friends – and possibly even my younger brother."

For the first time now he looked at Regulus, who went pink and wouldn't meet his eye. Sirius felt the usual shame of being related to such a bunch of Slytherins, but he also felt some sympathy for the second-year, too. He knew that Regulus could be easily influenced in his thoughts and opinions by those more powerful than himself, and he would do anything to be seen with the beautiful Adriana or the popular Lucius. And of course he'd always followed cousin Bellatrix around like a lost puppy; she was probably the one who'd introduced him to this motley crew of betrayers and mutineers in the first place.

Despite their obvious differences, Sirius hated to see his little brother in the company of someone like Malfoy. But then he remembered that Regulus was a Slytherin, after all, and this was probably where he belonged.

Still, there might be hope... "Regulus, what are you doing with people like Lucius Malfoy and Snape?" he asked despairingly.

"You don't have to answer that, Regulus," Lucius said sharply. "You can't think of him as a brother any more – he's only another of our Lord's enemies."

Sirius was truly alarmed now. "What are you talking about?" he asked angrily. "Regulus- think for yourself for once, you don't have to listen to these people!"

For the first time Regulus spoke. He was still pinkish in the face, but he met Sirius' gaze now as he answered, "I have thought for myself. You forget, Sirius, that you are the odd one in our family, not me. I am not here for you to save."

"Well said," Lucius smiled darkly at Sirius. "So you may take your righteous words elsewhere, Black. They are not required here."

"Maybe not," Sirius replied, "But I'm not going to let you go and find Adriana again. Whatever you lot have planned, you're not gonna get away with it easily."

"Have it your way," Lucius said, raising his wand. Sirius quickly got his own wand out of his pocket, and for the second time that night hoped that there was no fear in his eyes. Why were the seventh-years being so intimidating all of a sudden?

After a few seconds Sirius decided to start the duel, rather than grow more and more nervous looking at Lucius' cold, malicious eyes. He raised his wand and shouted "_Impedimenta_!"

The spell shot straight for Lucius but the older boy deflected it easily and his smirk wasn't even put out of place.

"Don't you know any real spells, Sirius?" he asked, his voice full of laughter. Somehow his use of Sirius' first name made him all the more menacing.

"I make it my business not to learn Dark Magic," snarled Sirius, whilst inwardly dreading the outcome of this particular situation.

"Really? I would have thought you'd show a special interest in Black Magic, as after all it is your namesake," Lucius retorted. "Here, I'll give you a quick beginner's lesson..." His voice dropped to an ominous whisper as he uttered his first spell.

"_Crucio_."

Sirius was bowled to the floor again with the worst pain he had ever experienced or imagined; he couldn't see, he couldn't think of anything but the pain. He didn't even know if he was screaming. He didn't know what this spell was, but it must surely be illegal. He could just about hear, as though from far away, Lucius laughing cruelly. And then he heard his brother's voice shouting, "Stop!"

The pain diminished slightly and Sirius looked up at them again from the floor. Regulus had grabbed Lucius' arm, and the wand was no longer pointing at Sirius. Lucius had a look like thunder on his face as he turned to the younger Slytherin.

"You show mercy to this unworthy Gryffindor?" he demanded, shaking his arm from Regulus' grip but not resuming the torturing spell. "Have you listened to nothing I've told you?"

"No – it wasn't because of that!" Regulus said quickly. "It's just that... Adriana might need us, and we're wasting time here – my brother is, as you say, unworthy of our time."

Lucius stared for a moment longer, before his lips curled again into a smirk. "Ten points for trying, but you are an abysmal liar. However, you are right. Enjoyable as it is seeing your mighty brother taught a lesson for once, we are wasting time."

Regulus looked relieved, but paled even more when Lucius raised his wand again. He spoke the word "_Stupefy_" and the last thing Sirius saw was his brother's nervous face before the stunning spell hit him and everything surrendered to blackness.


	29. In the Hospital Wing

Hi. Well it looks like we're nearing the end of our journey together. YES! I hear you all shout. I couldn't agree more. I think there'll be one more chapter after this one, and then that's the end. Thank you for you reviews, they're wonderful, except Laura's, but I know her so it's not a problem. DON'T WORRY!! Ha, capitals are great. On with the show...

Chapter Twenty-Nine: In the Hospital Wing

Remus, Bethan and Sarah followed the head of Gryffindor house through the school corridors, on the lookout for Sirius. They were anxious to find him, but dreaded to see what state he would be in when they did.

They had filled McGonagall in on everything they knew – or had assumed – about Adriana, and were surprised when she took them seriously. The number of casualties in evidence, including a teacher, had probably aided their argument. They'd set off quickly to find Sirius – they needed him to fill in the blanks of the evening's mysteries, and to know that he was okay, of course.

McGonagall walked fast, lighting the torches in the wall brackets on her way and looking quickly into all the dark corners for the missing Marauder. The three sixth-years hurried to keep up, not talking but exchanging nervous glances whenever another corridor turned out to be empty.

McGonagall raised her lit wand to create some extra light on a particularly shadowy fourth-floor hallway, and the magical beam landed on a dark heap next to the wall.

The students saw him, too; Remus went even paler in the dim light and Bethan hid her face in Sarah's shoulder.

"He's in a bad way," said a hollow, tinny voice. It was the suit of armour that was standing above Sirius. "Had the Cruciatus curse done on him," it added gravely.

"It could be worse," McGonagall replied quickly as she saw the three scared-looking teenagers, though she was almost as worried as them.

* * *

After a tense conversation with Madam Pomfrey the school nurse, Professor McGonagall managed to get Bethan, Sarah and Remus permission to stay in the Hospital Wing with their friends that night. Sarah sat in a chair between Peter and James' beds, while Remus and Bethan sat on either side of Sirius. Across the room Snape and Professor Harlem also lay under crisp white sheets.

The three of them tried to make conversation, but it was hard to in the circumstances. During one of the many lulls, Sarah looked down at James' pale sleeping face. It set a great contrast to his jet-black hair.

"I think Lily should be here," she said, breaking the silence. Remus and Bethan looked up at her. "Well, I think he would appreciate her most of all... and I know she'd want to be here when he wakes up."

Bethan nodded. "She doesn't even know any of this has happened," she realised, looking around at the five unconscious people.

Sarah got up. "I'll go get her. Back in a minute."

Bethan opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it again. When the door had closed again, she said to Remus, "I nearly suggested getting Adriana, too, then – for Peter." They looked over at the lonely, forlorn form of Peter two beds away.

"Well, now we know why she chose Pete over Padfoot," Remus said gravely. "Sirius was right – she was a spy."

Bethan looked down at the sleeping Marauder in front of them. "Sirius was right about a lot of things," she replied.

Remus gave a shrewd glance, and went out on a whim. "Marley?" he asked gently.

"I don't know why I'm thinking about that now," Bethan scowled herself harshly. "It's hardly important, with all this going on." She gestured to the five casualties. "Everyone's ended up in here."

"It's still important, though," Remus told her.

She carried on looking at Sirius for a few moments, then said, "I only really said yes when Marley asked me out to get over Sirius. I did like him," she added quickly, "but not as much as I liked Sirius... But I grew to like Marley even more, and I thought he felt the same way, I thought we could be actually going somewhere... But not I've been screwed over, and I realise I haven't gotten over Sirius. And I have no one to distract me from him." She reached a hand out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Sirius' face. It was as soft as she had imagined.

At that moment Sirius jerked awake suddenly. Bethan yanked her hand away in surprise as he sat up in the bed. His wide eyes darted around wildly and his hands clutched the sheets until his knuckles were white. Remus and Bethan exchanged worried glances, and then Remus put a placating hand on Sirius' shoulder.

The roving brown eyes turned to Remus, finally fixing on his face. Sirius' grip relaxed on the sheets as he muttered, "Remus... It's only Remus. I thought it was..."

His eyes swivelled nervously again as if he was searching the room for a hidden danger and he saw Bethan sitting on his right, looking almost as terrified as him. He reached out and seized her hand in her lap, holding it tight.

"Darling, I can't believe that Ravenclaw Beater treated you the way he did, he's a fucking bastard! I would never do anything like that to you!"

He squeezed her hand and his brown eyes bore into her green ones for the briefest of seconds, before they rolled back into his head, and he released her hand and slumped back onto the pillow.

Bethan looked across at Remus, bewildered.

* * *

Early the next morning Albus Dumbledore quietly entered the Hospital Wing. He surveyed the almost full room sombrely, but couldn't help but smile when he saw not only the five casualties of last night, but also the four forms of Lily, Sarah, Bethan and Remus tucked up in spare beds. The beauty of true friendship, the headmaster thought to himself.

He walked slowly around the room, looking at the sleeping bodies. He blamed himself for not keeping a sharp enough eye on the school's goings-on this year... but all he could do now was thank Merlin no one had died – although there had been some near misses, especially in the cases of Professor Harlem and Sirius.

Madame Pomfrey, having the ears of a bat, heard the headmaster's quiet footsteps and came out of her room at the end of the ward, wearing a pink dressing gown and carrying two mugs of hot chocolate.

Dumbledore smiled up at her and took the offered mug from her hand. "How are they doing?" he asked her.

"They'll be fine," she assured him, as she smoothed Harlem's bed sheets. "Still recovering at the moment, of course." She glanced at the great wizard. "What exactly happened, Headmaster?"

"It was Tom Riddle's doing," he answered gravely, surprising her with his candid response. "Under his new guise of Lord Voldemort."

"How on earth do you know?" Madame Pomfrey asked, sitting on the other side of Harlem's bed.

"I had Professor Abercrombie brew some Veritaserum, and used it to interrogate young Regulus Black. I see him as an unfortunate victim in this case, though we shall have to keep a careful eye on him from now on." Dumbledore sighed and looked up at the ceiling. His once-smooth face was showing the beginnings of aging, and the auburn hair had more grey now. "I knew this would happen," he said. "Of course Tom would want to get a spy into Hogwarts. I suppose I was in denial... and I never imagined he would use a young girl like that."

"Who, Professor?" asked Madame Pomfrey curiously, then added, "If you don't mind me asking?"

"It was Adriana Balavoine," said a voice, though it wasn't Dumbledore's. They looked round to see Sirius awake and alert.

He propped himself up on his elbows and continued hoarsely, "I knew there was something up with her – so she was spying for – for him, was she?"

He made to get out of bed altogether, but Madame Pomfrey rushed over, protesting, "For goodness' sake, lie down! You need rest, you've had the Cruciatus curse on you!"

"Is that what it was?" Sirius asked, his face white. He turned to Dumbledore again. "Lucius Malfoy attacked me, sir, he was working with her, and so was my cousin Bellatrix, and him –" he jerked a careless thumb in Snape's direction. "And... my brother," he finished.

"I'm quite aware of it," Dumbledore said simply.

"Well, what're you gonna do about it?" Sirius surprised himself with his boldness, whilst batting away Madame Pomfrey's hands; she was anxiously trying to push him back onto the bed.

"Well sit down and I'll tell you." Despite the grave circumstances, Dumbledore had to try not to smile at the situation in front of him. Sirius reluctantly sat back down on the bed and Madame Pomfrey fussed about, straightening the sheets and fluffing the pillows.

"The truth is, Sirius, there isn't a lot I can do," Dumbledore admitted. Sirius looked aghast. The headmaster continue, "Your brother has told me, under the influence of a very strong truth potion, everything he knows about what has been going on." He paused annoyingly, apparently thinking. Sirius tried to wait patiently, out of respect, but just as he was going to prompt him to continue, Dumbledore did anyway.

"Apparently Miss Belavoine cheated the Sorting Hat, therefore guaranteeing her disposal into Gryffindor. She had met Tom Riddle during the summer, and according to your brother they were... having a relationship."

Sirius had a disgusted look on his face. "But wouldn't he be like... forty now?" he asked.

"Older than that," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Ancient, to your eyes. But Voldemort has more than just great magical powers – he possesses tremendous charm and persuasive skills; you must understand, Sirius, that it would be very difficult for a young woman such as Adriana to resist him. I don't think we should blame her completely."

"Yeah right!" Sirius was unconvinced. "She knew what she was doing all along... and I knew she didn't really like Peter!"

"Quite." Dumbledore smiled grimly. Madame Pomfrey was now checking the other patients' conditions, whilst still listening intently of course, and Remus, Sarah, Bethan and Lily were showing the stirrings of wakefulness.

"So Adriana tricked everyone here, including you, so that she could spy on Hogwarts for Voldemort," Sirius clarified. Dumbledore nodded. "And you're not going to do anything about it?"

"What can I do, except prevent it from happening again?" the headmaster asked. "I only hope that she didn't find much of interest to tell Tom. I suspect the reason that she was so eager to become a Gryffindor was that your house seems to produce the biggest trouble-makers." His blue eyes pierced Sirius' suddenly. "Tell me, did you and James ever take her along with you on any of your jaunts around the school?"

"No!" Sirius was outraged. "She's no Marauder!" He thought about what Dumbledore had just said. "You mean – Voldemort would've wanted her to find out all the secret passageways and stuff... I don't think we ever told her about any. Unless..." He looked over at Peter's bed, and then back to Dumbledore worriedly.

Dumbledore smiled reassuringly. "It wouldn't matter either way," he said gently. "Having taught Tom Riddle myself, I know that he was no stranger to the less-known ins and outs at this school. We – well, I – am going to have to raise our defences from now on." He closed his eyes briefly, then looked up at the ceiling.

Sirius watched, wondering what the man was thinking. He didn't register the bustling of waking people around him until Dumbledore rose from his seat, saying, "I should go now. I've stayed too long as it is." He paused at the door and looked back. "I suppose there's no point in asking you to keep this to yourself?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, there isn't." When the headmaster had gone, Sirius turned to see his friends all awake and eating early breakfasts that Madame Pomfrey had conjured up for them. On his left Remus asked quietly, "What did Dumbledore say?"

"Well, he knows about our late-night jaunts around the school," Sirius replied solemnly, though his yes sparkled as he wondered, "Should we be worried about that?"

* * *

Well, that was the kind of 'answering all the mysteries' chapter, I hope it sufficed. If anyone has any BURNING QUESTIONS they want to ask, then just review and I'll think up some suitably eccentric answers which you couldn't possibly doubt...


	30. Yay! The Last Chapter!

Oh frabjous day, calloo callay! I chortle in my joy! The end is finally here. Thank you so much for all your reviews, and for sticking with this incredibly slow and long story! It's been fun ot write, most of the time, despite the set-backs with the tedious computer... grumble But here we are, sunset and camdon!

Chapter Thirty: Yay!!! The Last Chapter!!!

"What's up with you? You're looking disgustingly chirpy," Madame Pomfrey commented suspiciously, as she passed Professor Harlem's bed in the Hospital Wing.

"I may well look chirpy," he replied, smiling up at the young nurse. "For today is the long-awaited eclipse."

"Oh," she smiled back sweetly. "Won't that be nice. But I hate to tell you, Professor, that you are in no shape to go up on that Tower and look at the sky. You're staying here with me."

Harlem stared at her incredulously. "In my outrage I must beg to differ, dear lady." The smile came back to his face as he said, "I think your care and knowledge has led me to a very speedy recovery, and I shall be absolutely fine by this afternoon."

Madame Pomfrey could scarcely resist the charming smile. "We'll see," she told him, and turned to go back to her office.

Harlem looked across at the Gryffindor students. He, Sirius, Peter and James had been in there for a full day and a half now, and were all recovering nicely. They chatted with each other all the time, much to Madame Pomfrey's exasperation; she was still in the mind that they needed rest. Snape was also still there, but didn't join in with the conversation, choosing instead to read. He had asked if he could move back to his common room, but Madame Pomfrey was having none of it. She relented slightly and put a screen around his bed, which Sirius and James found hilarious.

"Did you hear that?" Harlem asked them now, pointing over to the office. "She's not gonna let me watch the eclipse!"

"Big deal," James replied, grinning, as he knew this would annoy the teacher. The Marauders found it easy to bounce off Harlem, as he was so much like a kid himself.

"_Big deal?_" he repeated. "Sirius – you appreciate the subject: tell him this is a big event."

"It's a big event, James," Sirius said.

Harlem scowled, and then looked back towards the office. "Hey," he hissed over to the three Marauders, who looked curiously up at him from their card game. "She's not looking – let's just go now."

"Go where?" James asked.

"To the Tower, to see the eclipse!" Harlem said impatiently.

"Yeah, I'm up for that," Sirius agreed immediately, throwing his cards down and getting out of bed. The four of them quietly pulled on their cloaks over their pyjamas and checked one last time that they would go unnoticed. Madame Pomfrey was still busy in her office.

"Right, as one shepherd said to the other, let's get the flock out of here," Harlem told the three students, and they walked straight out the door.

* * *

When they got up to the Tower they met the rest of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, already up there as Harlem had instructed them; he was very pleased to see that they had all turned up. Over in a corner were Bethan, Sarah, Remus and Lily.

Harlem nudged Sirius and pointed over to them. "Across the dusty desert lies the promised land," he said.

Sirius gave him a funny look and went with James and Peter to join their friends. They looked surprised to see them out of their beds.

"Did Madame Pomfrey let you out?" Sarah asked.

"No, we made a break for it," James replied. "It was Harlem's idea; that guy's got nerve I'm glad I don't have in my teeth," he added.

Across the Tower Professor Harlem was passing things round to all the students. When whatever it was reached the Gryffindors, they looked down curiously at what looked like ordinary, dark wrap-around shades.

"You must wear these when the eclipse comes," Harlem told them. "They're magically enhanced to protect your eyes."

"I'm putting mine on now, deffo!" James cried in jubilation.

Sirius stood next to Bethan, leaning on the wall. "Are you okay?" he asked, while behind him James was trying to get Lily to wear her shades, too. "About Marley, I mean – I didn't get to talk to you about it the other day."

"Well you did say a little bit about it," she replied.

"Really, when?" Sirius frowned in confusion.

"When you first were in the Hospital Wing. Me and Remus were there, and you woke up, and you said somethingâ€ you just said he was a bastard and stuff, and then you went back to sleep."

"Oh." Sirius gave a short laugh. "I don't remember that."

"Oh." Bethan sounded slightly disappointed, then said, "I'm okay, though, now that you ask. What about you? You weren't looking so good last time I saw you."

"I'm good," he answered, hoping he hadn't hurt her feelings. "It takes more than the "Cruciatus Curse" to hurt Sirius Black!" Bethan laughed at the mocking way he had said the name of the curse.

"Who was it?" he asked after a few moments.

"What?" she frowned.

"Well, you said Branson had been cheating on you – do you know who it was?" he prompted.

"Oh." She looked out over the grounds. "It was the other Beater on the Ravenclaw team... Laura Fodden."

Sirius couldn't help but chuckle to himself upon hearing this news. Bethan looked up at him sharply. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"I'm not laughing at you," he grinned, wishing he could stop. "It's just – I know that girl, y'know; I mean, I _know_ her... She's nice," he said, "But I think nice and easy would be the choice phrase to use to describe her."

"Oh thanks a lot, Sirius, that makes me feel much better!" Bethan scolded him.

Sirius stopped laughing. "What I mean is: if he would give you up for a girl like Laura Fodden, then it's obvious that he never appreciated you in the first place, isn't it?" Sirius hadn't told her that he'd got the black eye he was currently sporting from Branson, and he didn't intend to. "He never knew what he had, and now he's lost you, and he'll never get the chance to have you back," he said quietly. "Right?"

Bethan smiled. "Right," she whispered. "Thanks, that actually did make me feel much better," she laughed, and went forward to hug him. "And it's because you said it."

Surprised at first that she was hugging him, Sirius tentatively put his arms round her and held her tight, feeling her soft curls against his face.

"Yeah, well I never liked him anyway," he joked half-heartedly.

"I know," she said, looking up at him with a half-smile on her face. "And all because he beat you at Quidditch?"

Sirius looked down at her. He was tempted now to tell her the truth... but he held his tongue for another time. "Yeah, that's right," he answered finally. "I never could stand a beating at the game.

"Everyone put their fly goggles on, it's starting!" came Harlem's Irish drawl across the Tower. Sirius and Bethan broke apart immediately and picked out their shades.

Everyone looked strange as Sirius saw them, all staring up at the sky with the ridiculous black glasses on. He followed their gaze and turned his face to the sun. The goggles were amazing; it was just like having normal sight, but none of the sun's glare affected him.

They watched as the moon moved slowly in front of the sun, as though it was eating its way across it. Soon the sun was completely covered, and the sky went dark, as dark as night. In fact, like at night, some of the brightest stars came on display; Sirius the Dog Star was the most visible. They felt the air become distinctly cooler, and saw lots of birds flying back to roost in the treetops, and owls flying out the windows of the Owlery in one of the distant towers. As the sun disappeared, feathery streamers of light suddenly appeared around the dark disc of the moon.

"Those are part of the sun's corona - its outer atmosphere," Harlem told them softly. His voice seemed strangely loud in the unusual environment.

After a few minutes of quiet darkness, during which more stars came out, and the owls hooted to one another, beads of light appeared at the edge of the moon.

"Those drops of light you see around the moon are caused by the sunlight streaming between the jagged mountains and valleys on the moon," Harlem said, and again his voice seemed to echo around the tower top.

Soon after this the sun slowly reappeared again as the moon moved across it, and normal daylight returned. The stars disappeared and the confused birds came out again from the trees, or went back to the Owlery.

"Okay, you can remove your goggles now," Harlem told them softly. They all did, except James, who had to be forced to reluctantly take his off.

Sirius shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up at the still visible moon. He folded his arms and leant them on the wall, gazing out at the Forbidden Forest and the mountains beyond. He felt someone next to him and looked round in surprise. It was Remus.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Sirius said; he'd enjoyed the eclipse very much. "I'm sure Harlem will go into great orgasmic excitement during our next lesson when we talk about it."

Remus made a face. "I hope not. I saw you with Bethan just now –"

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?!" Sirius joked.

"I just wanted to know how it went," Remus said. "Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Sirius asked annoyingly.

"That you love her."

"No. She only just broke up with Branson, you know," Sirius reminded him. "I'll wait till she can, you know – love again."

"She only went out with him to get over you," Remus told him.

"Well then, I'm sure we won't have to wait for very long." Sirius smiled slightly, but inside he beamed. "You worry too much, Moony."

"No, I worry the exact right amount – you can never worry too much," Remus replied. "Anyway, you always complicate things too much."

"I don't complicate things," Sirius said in his usual lazy manner. "That's just the way things get by themselves."

"Fine, have it your way," Remus said grudgingly. He looked round at the others, messing around and teasing Harlem about his love for anything in the sky. "How's Peter doing?" he asked.

Sirius followed his gaze to where Peter was doing his best to join in with the jokes. "Alright, I s'pose. He hasn't really spoken to me about the whole Adriana thing. I think he's probably embarrassed about me being right."

"Yeah, and about her using him to get into our group," Remus added. "It's gotta be a kick in the head, right?"

Sirius nodded. "And now we don't even know where she's gone."

"It's lucky she didn't try and get him onto her side, or something..."

Sirius looked at him. "You mean as another spy?" he asked doubtfully, and shook his head. "Wormtail would never do that."

"Yeah, I know," Remus said quickly. "I was just thinking..."

"I know," Sirius grinned. "Don't worry, Moony, nobody doubts the loyalty of a Marauder." He turned to lean on the wall again, and looked out over the school grounds. The sun was back to normal now, and its rays shone down through the wisps of cloud in the blue sky, illuminating the gentle waves of the lake and warming his face as he watched his friends.

"What a comedy," he muttered with a lop-sided grin, and added to Remus, "It's all a bit tragic, really, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Everything." He didn't really know what he was talking about, so finished by declaring, "Every day is a pantomime!"

Remus frowned. "No it isn't," he laughed.

"Oh yes it is!" Sirius looked over Remus' shoulder and saw James creeping up behind him. "Look out behind you, Moony!" he warned, still grinning.

"Oh, very funny – quit with the pantomime analogy already!" Remus said, just before James rugby-tackled him to the ground, much to everyone's amusement.

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A bit of a lame ending, but it has to stop somewhere, guys! Oh, by the way, Professor Harlem - who was a lot cooler in my head, so sorry if he was a bit annoying - is completely based on Bono (of U2 fame); hence the fly goggles. And Marley Branson is based on Marlon Brando - see what I did there, with the names? Eh, eh? So if you're unfamiliar with him, then see A Streetcar Named Desire, because he looks great in that, and that's exactly what Marley looks like! Again, cheers for the reviews... until next time... 


	31. Epilogue

I found this the other day in a pile of Stuff I was looking through, and thought I'd tag it onto the end of my story in case anyone was interested. It's not that great, but sort of ties up loose ends and introducing possible new ideas, and could also be considered shamelessly slushy! Try saying that five times quicker... I hope it's interesting to read, and thank you if you do read it.

* * *

Epilogue.

Sirius knocked on the Potters' door and waited, his bag dangling from one hand. He thought of last summer when he's arrived here, and had to force back the embarrassment of how he he'd acted around Adriana. Well, she'd turned out to be insane, anyway…

The door opened. "Padfoot!" James greeted him warmly as he pulled Sirius inside. "Nice of you to show up. Hey guys – Sirius is here!"

They went into the kitchen and Sirius saw Remus, Lily and Sarah for the first time in a month. No Bethan, though, he noticed immediately.

"Hello stranger," Lily said, smiling. "What happened? We thought you'd forgotten about us."

"Never!" Sirius replied. "I literally haven't had a chance to write or anything. I left home, and moved to the Leaky Cauldron."

While James and the girls digested this surprising information, Remus looked dismayed. "Sirius, you live in a pub?" he asked, his eyes wide. "God, I'm surprised you've lasted this long."

"No, I've got a job there," Sirius explained. "Tom gave me a job. Don't worry, I'm coping surprisingly well in an alcohol-fuelled environment. Actually, it's surprisingly dull, and there's hardly a chance to play tricks on anyone!"

"Well I'm disappointed," James said. "A Marauder can always find the opportunity to prank someone!" he put an arm round his best friend and steered him into a chair. "When we get back to Hogwarts we'll get back into the routine," he assured him.

The three boys began excitedly planning adventures for the next school year. As it was their seventh, and final year at Hogwarts, they knew they would have to out-do themselves and come up with ideas no one had even dreamed of before.

After a couple of minutes, though, Sirius could bear it no longer, and, trying to sound as though it had just occurred to him, asked the burning question: "Hey – where's Bethan?"

"She's upstairs," Sarah told him, turning from her conversation with Lily about how slow boys seemed to be at maturing. "But she's not very… happy with you at the moment," she added carefully.

Sirius was aghast. "Why?"

"Well you haven't contacted her at all since school finished," Sarah bristled with anger for her friend. "She's been upset, Sirius."

"I didn't mean to upset her!" Sirius said, glaring at the table. "I haven't contacted you guys, either, it's not like I singled her out! God, girls can be so..." But he knew it was useless to continue that thought. "I never want to upset her, I lo-" He looked up quickly, checking himself just in time. "I like her very much," he muttered instead.

Remus raised a light brown eyebrow. "Right… Well, you should go talk to her." The others nodded, and Sirius got up to go upstairs.

"Oh – Sirius!" Lily called suddenly. He turned. "I just wanted to tell you my news – although you won't like it."

Sirius frowned. "What's that?" he asked.

Lily blushed slightly and said, "I've been made Head Girl!"

"Oh god!" Sirius looked and sounded disgusted. "Lily, why did you have to tell me that now?" He looked utterly dejected. "I s'pose you'll be trying even harder to make James a good boy."

"Well, actually, he might be a different kind of Boy…" Sarah broke the silence. Sirius looked from her to James through narrowed eyes, suspecting trouble.

James cleared his throat. "Er, Padfoot mate – there's something I need to tell you, too…"

"What?" Sirius asked slowly, his expression turning to alarm as he dreaded hearing the answer he was now afraid of. He looked around at the others. "What is it?"

"I'll tell him, shall I?" Remus sighed as he saw James chicken out. "Sirius, you'll like this even less… James has been made Head Boy."

The cuckoo clock out in the hall filled the following silence by cuckooing six times. Sirius blinked, then snapped, "What the fuck?"

"Sirius, can't you refrain from swearing for at least five minutes after your arrival?" Lily couldn't help asking.

He looked at his watch and snarled, "I've been here eight minutes. It was necessary under the circumstances."

"I know, it's weird, huh?" James grinned sheepishly. "I wasn't expecting it either."

"And it gets worse," Sirius muttered. "I'm going to talk to Bethan, and when I come back down, you'd better not be Head Boy."

He left the room, and they heard his footsteps on the stairs. James looked fearfully at Remus, who, along with Sarah, looked suspiciously like he was trying not to laugh.

Upstairs Sirius checked each of the three bedrooms, but Bethan wasn't in any of them. Closing the door of the third, he eyed the shut bathroom, and walked slowly up to it.

He knocked softly. "Bethan?"

"I'm in the bath," she answered. Then, after a moment: "Sirius?"

"Yeah, it's me," he said, leaning his head on the wooden door. "You're in the bath? Are you naked?" He immediately regretted asking this.

"No, I kept my clothes on because I thought they might need a wash," came the dry reply.

Sirius cursed his idiocy before saying, "Sorry, that was stupid. Look, I'm sorry I haven't written or anything. It's not 'cause I didn't want to, 'cause I did. I've missed you so –"

"Sirius," she interrupted.

"Yeah," he immediately answered.

"I'm in the bath, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Sirius whispered. No other answer came, possibly because she hadn't heard him, and he sank down to sit against the cold wall. He rested his forehead on his palms, thinking that he'd blown it already, before it had even began.

Nearly an hour later saw him in a similar mood downstairs in the Potters' front room. James and Lily were in the kitchen getting dinner ready (which would have been a source of great amusement for Sirius in normal circumstances), while Remus and Sarah sat whiling the time away. They had decided to opt for not asking whether they could help with dinner; that way they wouldn't have to. Sirius had come down to join them once he had pulled himself together after the brief and painful conversation with Bethan, but he wasn't offering much more than that in way of his usual chat.

He sat in the single armchair, slouched down with his arms hanging over the sides and his legs stretched out on the table in front of him, listening to Remus and Sarah's banter but not caring to add to it.

"I'm telling you, it must be some kind of joke of Dumbledore's," Remus was saying. "It's the kind of thing he would do – and what other reason is there for James being Head Boy?"

"Sounds like someone's jealous," Sarah laughed. "You're just bitter, because you've been a good boy all these years, and the reward is someone else – your best friend – becomes Head Boy, while you remain a measly prefect."

"Ha! I scoff at you lame attempt to understand me," Remus replied. "Are you unaware that I am a Marauder, and therefore not a 'good boy'? Sirius, tell her, tell this asinine being here, that I'm an integral part of the group."

"That's right, my wolverine friend, you certainly are," Sirius said listlessly.

Sarah laughed again and smoothed her short blonde hair. "Okay, fine, change of subject: what's the betting that during the course of our next year, Professor Harlem and Madame Pomfrey will get it on?" she grinned at the shock on Remus' face.

"Um… next to nothing?" he suggested. "It's a higher betting that you will be outed as a hopeless, matchmaking romantic."

Sarah punched him on the arm and gave a derisive snort. "And you're trying to say that you're not a hopeless romantic?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Shh, don't show me up in front of Padfoot." Remus put a finger to her lips, looking worried. "But may I point out," he added in his normal tone, "that that snorting laugh you so often employ – _very_ attractive." His laughter quickly ceased when he saw her murderous expression.

"What's that about Harlem and Madame Pomfrey? I was thinking they'd make a cute couple, too." The arrival of Bethan rescued Remus just in time from Sarah.

Sirius whipped round at the sound of her voice, straitening up in the armchair and crossing his legs beneath him. He stared; she stood at the doorway, her slightly damp red hair falling onto her shoulders. He wanted to say something, but she did first.

"Sirius, you want to have that talk now?" she asked, appearing not to notice his slack-jawed expression, and Remus and Sarah looking from one to the other.

"Yeah, yeah – if you want to," Sirius replied.

"I've got nothing better to do," Bethan smiled.

"Oh for god's sake, just get out of here," Sarah told them impatiently, making Remus laugh. She glared at him, not having forgiven him yet for the snorting laugh comment.

Sirius and Bethan went upstairs to one of the bedrooms, he dreading what she would say; she hadn't seemed very bothered with him earlier.

"So, er, what exactly did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"You were the one who interrupted my bath," she reminded him, smiling again. "What did _you_ want to say?"

"Oh, right." What did he want to say? "Well, I started to say, how I've missed you, and I wanted to get in touch – but then you stopped me, and I didn't think you wanted much to hear."

Bethan frowned. "The reason I stopped you was because we were on opposite sides of a wooden door and I couldn't see you. I wanted to be able to see your face when we had this conversation."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "This face?" She nodded, removing his anxieties. Sirius sighed and smiled in relief. "Thank god, 'cause I thought you hated me. I thought I'd blown it already and you'd put me in the same boat as Marley Branson."

She frowned again, and shook her head. "You're in a different boat from Marley," she told him. "He's in a little rowing boat that goes round in circles with only one oar, and you're the captain of a big ship."

He grinned and took her hands. "I've always wanted to be a pirate." She pulled him closer to him, relishing the smell and feel of him before they kissed. Her hands went into his soft hair, while his travelled down her back. She could feel him smiling as he kissed her. They parted, and now she could see his smile as they stared at each other.

"I have nothing to offer you," he said suddenly, even tough he couldn't help smiling; in fact he was laughing. "I'm broke, and I have no house or family that I want to call my own."

She put her hands up to his face, stopping the words. "Sirius, we're seventeen," she laughed. "I don't expect you to provide for me. You shouldn't be so old-fashioned, anyway."

"I can't help it," he said apologetically. "I love you so much, I want to protect you like I should have protected you from Marley."

"Don't ruin the moment with his name," she said softly, tracing his lips with her finger. He closed his eyes and kissed her fingertip gently.

"There's just one condition," he said, opening his eyes again to reveal smiling brown. "Let's not be another James and Lily. I don't want to be official potato-peeler in this relationship."

She laughed and nodded. "No, I agree, we'll be a Sirius and Bethan – or a Bethan and Sirius, if you will." He grinned and kissed her again.

"Now we just have to get Remus and Sarah together," Bethan told him, her hands resting on his chest.

"I really don't think they need any help with that," Sirius replied. "You should have seen them earlier – serious flirting going on."

"Let's go watch them now, it'll be fun," she suggested, going towards the door.

Sirius resisted and pulled her back towards him. She came back readily, and he ran a hand down the side of her face. "I'd rather stay here," he said, his eyes searching her face.

"Me too," she agreed, sitting on the bed. He sat on the floor and lay his head on her thigh, closing his eyes. Slightly surprised, Bethan played with his hair, twisting it in her fingers and making it stand on end. "Should I be nervous about dating such an infamous cad?" she asked him.

"No," he replied. "If anything, I should be more nervous… Unlike you, I've never been in love before."

"Oh good," Bethan said casually, even a she felt something like a balloon swelling up in her chest. "That makes me feel a lot better about everything."


End file.
